It does not take much acuity – even from the armchair political observer – to see that the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has slipped into full electioneering mode. One glance at the Nation’s front page is enough to chuckle at how a routine public relations exercise is inflated into headline news. Clearly the leading daily has invited a critique that it is complicit.
This week, Minister of Transportation Santia Bradshaw, flanked by her entourage, was given the full monty coverage for the arrival of 35 electric buses manufactured in China. Social media influencers were mobilized to broadcast the spectacle of buses rolling from the Port Authority to Transport Board headquarters, as if this were a transformative moment in our transport history.
But here is a question for Minister Bradshaw: it is good to expand the fleet. Yet Barbadians know what to expect in a couple of years, given government’s chronic neglect of maintenance. Meanwhile, the daily chaos on our highways and byways remains unaddressed. For over half a century, minister after minister has failed to bring order to the roads. Minister Santia Bradshaw continues the tradition of cluelessness on how to bring order to the transport sector in Barbados. Just off Halls Road roundabout heading to Queens Park what do you see? At the junction from QEH to the River Road, what do you see? At the entrance and exit from the River Bus terminal, what do you see?
An efficient public transportation system remains elusive. Instead we have to endure gridlock every hour of the say, negatively impacting national productivity. The Barbados Licensing Authority continues to underperform. Potholes multiply, draining foreign exchange as rims, tyres, and suspensions are replaced.
Yes, we love the spectacle of shiny electric buses. But on our pothole riddled roads, they will soon pick up the ‘rattle’. However beyond the optics, there are deeper concerns: international data shows hybrid and electric vehicles carry unique safety risks — higher fire hazards, complex crash responses, and aging battery failures. Yet Barbados has no clear plan for specialised training of first responders, no transparent maintenance regime, and no accountability framework for agencies tasked with oversight.
So, Minister Bradshaw, give us more than a parade. Tell us what the Transport Authority has achieved, where it has failed, and how it intends to confront the structural rot. Because it is incredible — and unacceptable — that moribund agencies continue to suckle at the taxpayer’s expense while government feels no obligation to be accountable to the citizens it was elected to serve.
What confidence can we have in any government that is unable to solve a 50 year old problem? Maybe it has to do with who controls the sector.
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