Bus drivers gathered yesterday to speak out against proposals to change where buses stop on Bay Street.
By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
SEVERAL bus drivers are angered by the government’s decision to restrict four bus routes from stopping in the heart of Bay Street.
Those who rely on public transport may be left stranded next week if the bus drivers who fall under the Public Transportation Association of the Bahamas make good on their suggestion that they may take industrial action over the matter next Monday.
The bus drivers held a press conference yesterday to voice their displeasure over the Road Traffic Department’s decision.
The bus drivers claimed that Bay Street merchants are using issues surrounding the public transportation industry as a guise to rid downtown of Bahamians. They called on Prime Minister Perry Christie to overrule the decision.
The group, led by PTAB President Reuben Rahming, argued that the government gave no prior notice of the intended change despite holding “meeting after meeting” with the group.
Mr Rahming suggested that the group might take industrial action on Monday to protest the government’s new bus stop regulation. He added that it is “a shame” that national leaders would ignore the needs of their people in favour of the demands of Bay Street merchants.
The Road Traffic Department this week posted signs and circulated notices around the island informing drivers and passengers that as of February 2, stops for routes 1, 7, 16a and 21a would be relocated in front of the Government Publication Building on Bay Street.
“Systematically, we the Bahamian people have lost our right of access,” Mr Rahming said of the change. “We give hundreds of millions in concessions to rich hotels, then are made to pay to visit these same hotels and get fired for hanging around after a hard day’s work. Expats are afforded the best lands, beaches and even citizenship, while our vendors are systematically kicked off the beaches. We are being walled out from the right of access to even the high water line.”
Mr Rahming added: “For years some powerful expats, merchants and institutions have been displeased with any grouping of Bahamians on ‘their Bay Street’ - unless you are bringing them money don’t come downtown.
“The removal of yet another public bus stop without consultation exposes this fact. Now hundreds of mostly Bahamians will be forced to walk regardless of the weather up to a half of a mile, to stand in crowded, unprotected conditions. There is a constitutional and cultural right that is systematically and diabolically being snaked away from us all. Mainly the right of access, the freedom of movement and assembly,” he said.
Road Traffic Controller Ross Smith called the relocation of the downtown stop from its present site near Royal Bank of Canada to the Government Publication Building “the result of a long process”.
According to Mr Smith, his office had received a number of complaints about the placement of the Royal Bank stop and had toyed with the idea of relocating the stop to other locations.
He said: “The issue with that stop was its placement. It was near two banks and often became crowded. It was a security issue and we need to make a change.”
He added: “We considered moving the stop back over to Frederick Street but decided against that. We at Road Traffic decided that Frederick Street was too narrow and would pose a congestion issue. Our goal was to put it in an area that will benefit all parties involved and we thought this option achieved that.”
Mr Smith added that he feels the pain of the drivers and was willing to meet with the group to improve this situation. He did say, however, that the new regulated stop near the Government Publication Building would stand despite the demands of drivers.
He said: “I will meet with them, but moving that stop from where it is now, down to the new site is going to happen.”
Comments
duppyVAT 9 years, 2 months ago
Bahamian public bussing is a disaster ......................... that is why there are 300,000 private vehicles on New Providence. But we all know who owns these franchises ....... so no government will rock the boat ........ just tinker with the status quo
Hogfish 9 years, 2 months ago
jitney drivers are all lousy pieces of shit ! yes, all of them.!
asiseeit 9 years, 2 months ago
Oh my lord, people will have to walk just a little bit farther down the road. What a bunch of sissy's. What loss of access will people loose, that is a dumb statement. The sidewalk in front of RBC is the same as the sidewalk down the road, none of it is covered, rain would hit you exactly the same in both spots. These thugs, YES THUGS, are making noise to make noise. I would suggest that if they do not like it they can give their jitteny plate to someone who does not speed, cut people off, block the road, drink while driving, make third lanes, and in general put the driving public in danger.
duppyVAT 9 years, 2 months ago
Bay Street should be VEHICLE FREE ....................... let that be the first reform to downtown
TheMadHatter 9 years, 2 months ago
One person in the article says ... "There is a constitutional and cultural right that is systematically and diabolically being snaked away from us all"
Yes, when you use your "snake" without a condom - things like this happen.
When successive government have talked to the people about getting involved in manufacturing right here at home to create new businesses and reduce imports - they weren't talking about baby manufacturing.
But, alas, that is all we can seem to manufacture. So after buying baby food and other related things needed for that, Bahamians have no money left to put together in a group and buy or build a hotel.
They prefer to leave that to FOREIGN landlords to come in and setup "modern" plantations so their babies can grow up and pick cotton on them. (cotton sheets that is).
TheMadHatter
TheMadHatter 9 years, 2 months ago
But, child, don't even mention buidling a new church. Bahamians will jump up like they gone drink a case of Red Bull.
ted4bz 9 years, 2 months ago
"A bus stop should not be in front of a bank." This is very childish excuse and makes absolutely no sense. There are bus stops in front or near almost every banks everywhere in this country. The comptroller and minister need to be forthcoming and tell us what this is about.
It does not matter if there is no bus stop in front of a bank, buses pass by in front of all banks everywhere all day. Anyone going into a bank or coming out need only call out for bus to stop and traditionally the driver stops. I don't see this changing because they move a bus stop.
With the amount of uproars in this country we don't need another. Our police and courts are stretched to the max and this decision only places further load on our institutions.
Furthermore I wonder how many officials park and walk more than two blocks away from their offices everyday? Hmmm!
ted4bz 9 years, 2 months ago
My last and final rights (before I die) is to see this country governed by qualify professionals (how to awake the sleeping masses) and to remove these childish, rogue, unprofessional, petty and sassy talking gangs from the seats and orbits of power.
proudloudandfnm 9 years, 2 months ago
So who really gives a good dump what these thugs have to say?
ted4bz 9 years, 2 months ago
Franchise holders are family members and friends of the politicians and their parties. Get rid of all the bus drivers not stopping on the bus stops today and you will have a brand new band of drivers tomorrow doing the same the. The problem is not just the bus drivers alone but the politician and franchise holders.
proudloudandfnm 9 years, 2 months ago
If I were in government the first thing I would do is start a point system for jitney drivers. Get enough points and you lose your license FOREVER. I would also make it retroactive so anyone currently driving with a bad record immediately loses their license...
Jitney drivers in Nassau are criminals and deserve to be treated as such...
ted4bz 9 years, 2 months ago
Government can never fix this problem or no other problem for that matter. What is the change the thing that is the cause of the problem fix the problem.
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