PSV operators are being told to use the Constitution River Terminal rather than treating the facility as optional, as authorities intensify enforcement against illegal loading and unloading that police said is worsening congestion at one of Bridgetown’s busiest points.
Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Chief Executive Officer responsible for Communications and Public Education Mark Haynes has thrown the organisation’s full support behind the enforcement, telling drivers and commuters that they cannot continue using the area outside the terminal as an unofficial transport hub.
Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) chief executive officer responsible for communications and public education Mark Haynes. (Photo Credit: File Photo)
The crackdown, according to Haynes, has sparked frustration among drivers and commuters, with wardens stopping loaded vans that pick up passengers near the bridge and around vending stalls at the lower end of the Constitution River Terminal (CRT), and ordering those passengers to disembark and walk inside.
Police had stated that the practice was contributing to serious congestion at the terminal entrance near L.E. Smith Funeral Home, he said.
But the rules governing the terminal were clear and must be followed, he added.
“That CRT is built primarily for buses to go in there and queue and commute persons across Barbados,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“What has happened is apparently some guys are coming down Constitution Road and turning left by L.E. Smith Funeral Home and making it basically a hub, which cannot and is not permissible.”
Haynes said the AOPT could not support operators who continued to load outside the designated area.
“We cannot support the workers in seeking to stop there, which then develops congestion at that corner and it impedes traffic flow. We cannot have that.
“We cannot always have the cake and eat it too. I’m urging the workers to be in full conformity with the rules.”
The requirement for PSVs to enter the terminal was established when CRT was created and was not something operators could choose to ignore based on passenger demand, he said.
“Those are rules that were laid down when the CRT was set up and therefore they’re supposed to go inside.
“You just can’t say you’re not going to CRT because you see commuters and the commuters are trying to tell you they want to go now.”
Haynes also put some of the responsibility on commuters, urging them not to encourage drivers to break the rules by waiting outside the terminal.
“We want to have a clear definitive position…go in the terminal and collect your commuters.
“The commuters are also urged not to stop there and encourage the workers or the drivers to pick them up and drop them off [there]. Go to the terminal.”
He acknowledged that going into the terminal could be inconvenient for some commuters, depending on where they were coming from in Bridgetown, but said that could not justify creating another transport hub outside the CRT.
Haynes also pointed to the difficulty police faced in maintaining enforcement.
“Yes, when the police are there, the guys do not do it, but when the police leave, they go and do it.
“The police cannot be there 24/7 given that there’s a shortfall of manpower. They cannot be concentrated on that every single day.”
Haynes warned that the CRT issue was not the only location where PSV operators were flouting traffic rules.
He singled out John Beckles Drive, west of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he said some drivers continued to pick up passengers despite the road being a major artery into The City.
“I made a personal visit more than once, and I urged the workers then, and I still urge them now. I’m not going to recant. Please do not make the hospital a hub. It is wrong
The practice was particularly troubling because the area is supposed to function as a silent zone and must remain accessible to emergency vehicles, he said.
“It is a silent zone that must be respected. The noise pollution and the blocking of traffic, congestion of traffic, which impedes the progress of the ambulances [and other vehicles].
“You’re not respecting the inside of the zone because you’re blowing the horns and you’re luring passengers to get in the vehicles. It should not be made a hub.”
Haynes’ message was unequivocal: PSV operators and commuters must use the facilities provided for them rather than creating unofficial loading points that contribute to congestion and obstruct traffic.
“Please do not make the hospital a hub,” he said. “It is wrong.”
Barbados TODAY has reached out to The Barbados Police Service for comment on the development.
(SB)
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