Armed robberies and drive-by shootings have made Bridgetown’s Constitution River Terminal (CRT) such a security risk after dark that public service vehicle operators will demand a “total review” of how commuters use the facility and alternative evening parking from the government, Barbados TODAY has learned.
Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael stressed that owing to a spike in violent crime, use of the terminal by commuters after sunset had become a safety and security risk, and that most PSVs relocate to nearby Fairchild Street, where parking is restricted.
The AOPT will also request that the Ministry of Transport and Works provide alternative parking after 6 p.m., for ZRs and minibuses that use the terminal, he added.
Raphael said: “What frustrates me is that they [the ministry] are now realising that many people don’t go into the terminal, and, if you are talking about traffic, that is one area the government needs to tackle urgently. I was made to understand that people don’t go into the CRT because of security issues. We have between 20 to 50 operators who work late at night; and most of those operators ply the Silver Sands and 3Ds routes and Silver Hill; the others prefer to exit, because there is too much congregating and issues related to parking at night. So, some people opt not to come out to provide a service.”
“And then you have the issue of crime. That is still one of our botherations because it has escalated to drive-by shootings. It is a total security risk for operators, especially that they carry large sums of money with them. So, we will put proposals to the Ministry of Transport and the minister that we would like to see a whole revisit of the utilisation of the CRT, one; and two, the alternative parking for PSVs.”
Raphael recalled that years ago, before the construction of Freedom Park at the corner of Fairchild and Probyn Streets, ZRs and minibuses used that area but were constantly moved on by police due to the vehicles’ proximity to the traffic lights.
He said: “If we can have a situation where the Transport Authority and the Ministry of Transport and Works can agree…even if we did it as a trial basis, where they allow all of the vehicles to go up…for example, if a Silver Sands bus goes down to the CRT; people catch it from there and come up, and eliminate the fact that the operator will have to go up there and wait for the person to walk up…he can collect them from down there and vice versa.”
He also stressed that pressing ahead with the government’s proposed mass transit system is critical.
“I am saying we welcome the Mass Transit [Authority], we are looking forward to it; we want to make a contribution. I think the [authority] will regulate how people perform in terms of the CRT bus terminal and so on.”
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