The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

THE proprietor of a local jitney service said uncertainty is the main challenge in the nation’s omnibus industry, as he called for stakeholders to be included in some national plan mapping the way to their industry’s return to normalcy.

The transport industry was shut down in early March during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of work for nearly four months, public buses were back on the streets on July 1 — included in the last phase of the government’s reopening plan — before a new emergency order was released on July 28, barring them from offering their services.

Lamont Rahming, proprietor of Economy Bus Line and Charter Services, said: “The uncertainty of the entire thing is one of the biggest challenges we have to face. Now we don’t know what’s going to happen. If we had some sort of road map or something where we could have some sort of expectation to say, for example, if we can get to this number then this is going to happen. If there were triggers in the national plan to address this whole COVID pandemic as it pertains to us, then that would bring some relief to us and give us some kind of road map or some kind of guide.

“We need something that we can make possible plans (for). It is very difficult with the uncertainty,” said Mr Rahming, who spoke to The Tribune hours before Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and health officials held a press conference.

“We have rumours flying around and then some people making statements that turn out to be incorrect. They are dismissive saying this and that is not going to happen and then the very rumour turns out to be true.”

When the bus industry was reopened in July of this year, it was not business as usual. There were COVID-19 protocols put in place which made a bus ride a little different, such as requiring masks for entry and a 50 percent maximum occupancy, but the bus owners were happy to comply just to be back on the streets and earning a living.

Mr Rahming said as soon as business was beginning to pick up after reopening, the industry was shut down again.

“Speaking to a few guys it seemed to show like it was coming back,” he said. “Some of the people were beginning to have more trust in the system, especially when they saw you had to wear the masks. I talked to a couple of guys and they said the last day or so before we were shut down again, they saw some sense of getting back to normalcy. Of course it was a bit trying because they only had the half occupancy and all of that, but they saw that it was at least starting to level off a bit.

“It wasn’t all the back to pre-COVID numbers, but they began to see more of an uptick because when they first started back up, it was really, really slow. I heard stories of guys being out, three, four, five hours to start the day off and hadn’t even gotten $20 yet. They began to see an improvement from that situation. And, they were beginning to have some confidence to say maybe we could have lived with this or an adjustment was being made. And, then comes the abrupt shut down.”

Uncertainty in the industry is definitely affecting the finances of the bus operators and drivers. A lot of them, during the first industry shutdown, made good with their creditors, but are now faced with going back to them for third chances.

“That’s (finances) the biggest strain of all,” Mr. Rahming continued. “You know even when our banks would have been working with us saying we could defer payments, we took advantage of that. And, when we were back up and running, even with the reduced income at least it was something coming in. So you were at least able to make some of your commitments or at least go back and renegotiate again.

“The lending institutions would have the mindset to say, ‘these guys are back up and running again, it may not be 100 percent but at least we can look forward to getting something from them.’ Now you are looking at going back to them to negotiate again.”

Mr Rahming said some of the guys are still holding on to the saying, “this too shall pass”, but there are quite a number who are very discouraged because of looming uncertainty.