Government has been exploring the use of the long-touted park-and-ride system as a means of reducing traffic congestion and enhancing traffic management.
Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw made the disclosure on Tuesday during debate on a resolution to acquire five acres of land for the construction of a roundabout at the Windsor–Lower Greys junction, which spans parts of St George and Christ Church.
“On the issue of the wider traffic management, yes, we’ve been exploring the issue of the park-and-ride. Park-and-ride has been a discussion that has been going on for a long, long time, and we have identified areas where we would want to do the park-and-ride,” the minister told the House of Assembly.
She added that recent experiences with cricket at Kensington Oval “would have sparked some of the relationships between the various entities to flesh out how we can better improve the park-and-ride situation.”
But the minister acknowledged that a cultural shift would be needed for such a system to succeed.
“There’s a reality, however many cars we [say] that we have on the roads, Bajans are not putting down their cars unless they know that there is a reliable transport system to get them to and fro,” she told her fellow lawmakers.
Bradshaw noted that women, in particular, are among the most frequent drivers and are unlikely to give up the use of private vehicles unless they feel confident in the reliability and safety of public transportation.
As part of that improvement effort, the minister announced that 35 new electric buses are currently being manufactured and are expected to arrive on the island in December.
“When those buses arrive, it will allow us to now top up the existing complement and hopefully then be able to address a number of the shortfalls that we’re seeing across the entire country,” she said, noting that the fleet had already grown to 89 buses.
She also acknowledged frustration in rural communities that have long experienced delays and service gaps. “We are working to get to the point where we can reduce the concerns and the bugbears that Barbadians have been experiencing, especially in our rural districts, where I know that people have felt forgotten for a long time.”
The minister further revealed that a new public education campaign will soon be launched to improve safety and accountability within the public service vehicle (PSV) sector.
“There’ll be a public education campaign launching shortly in relation to the PSV sector, because safety is not just about speed humps and street lights, but safety is also how the people who move people across the country behave in relation to our roads as well,” she said. “I’ve seen a number of the practices where drivers are not wearing shoes—the appropriate shoes—despite the regulations speaking to what they should wear, and I just want to signal that we are coming after them as well, because it cannot be that you are disregarding basic rules in regards to safety.” (FW)
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