The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE government is still studying a unified national bus system years after first signalling reform, with no structure yet presented to operators and no timeline announced.

Transport and Energy Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis said yesterday that discussions remain ongoing as officials consult foreign transit agencies and local drivers while working toward a model for The Bahamas.

Speaking yesterday on Guardian Radio’s Morning Blend programme, she said the government has met with public transport authorities in Barbados and Bermuda, and has held talks with agencies in the United States while developing a plan suited to local conditions.

“I did meet with the authorities of MARTA, that's Atlanta, and in New York Metropolitan, that authority, and we have been building out a plan. We do have to go back to the union. They have been giving great ideas,” she said.

She said the government intends to incorporate franchise owners — many of whom have operated routes for years — and is leaning toward a cooperative model.

“A lot of them are franchise owners,” she said. “They've had franchises for years, and so leaning on their expertise is important as well, but we'll be working towards getting a structure that fits the culture of The Bahamas and works and being able to improve our bussing sector definitely are still a priority.”

Plans to modernise and unify the public bus system date back nearly a decade, including a reform project developed with the Inter-American Development Bank that examined routes, fares, fleet standards and formal bus stops, but no full framework has yet been implemented.

Rudolph Taylor, president of the Bahamas Unified Bus Drivers Union, said the union has not met with the government since 2025 and is waiting for its findings.

“There's a lot of things that they had to look into. So just, we're just waiting on what their findings on and so forth,” he said.

Asked if he remained optimistic, he said any system must reflect local realities.

“Everybody's trying to take the ideas from other countries, and we have to make it unique to us, being a very small island, which is only 21 miles by seven,” he said. “So what may work in a metropolitan area would not work for us so or might not.”

“We need to sit down and look at it in a way that will benefit Bahamians and the motoring public at large. I just ain't doing no more talking about it no more because we dealt with administration after administration on the matter but we have seen over the years where it has led.”

Mr Taylor also pointed to infrastructure shortcomings, including the lack of bus stops and lay-bys in some areas, and said Bay Street needs proper signage and covered waiting areas so passengers are not forced to stand under storefronts to avoid the sun or rain.