A new Mass Transit Authority to govern the public transport system is to be established before the end of the year, with a board expected to be appointed to oversee major upgrades to the River Bus Terminal and streamline public transport operations, the government announced Friday.
The new authority will be a merger of the state-owned Transport Board with the regulator – the Transport Authority – into a single mass transit body.
Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw said that by that time, the new authority would be able to bring greater clarity to the government’s vision for the terminal and its immediate surroundings.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of an all-electric taxi service in Warrens, St Michael, Bradshaw, who is Minister of Transport and Works, said the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. is currently spearheading plans for upgrades to the River Bus Terminal project.
She said: “There are some changes in conjunction with the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. whereby, the area where the market [Fairchild Street] is, that is to be upgraded. We have been in discussion with them about the drainage in that area . . . . Sometimes you would see flooding in the area; and there are also some upgrades, generally, to the kiosks that are required.”
The minister pointed out that BTMI is dealing with that project in relation to the design of the area as it did with the vendors’ market.
She explained that the aim is to make the terminal easier to traverse from The City centre, through the market, into the River Bus Terminal.
“The actual terminal . . . upgrades are happening there; but we are in the process of moving towards the Barbados Mass Transit Authority. So, before the end of this year, the anticipation is that we have more clarity, in terms of a new board in place, to be able to then take the vision forward for the terminal,” Bradshaw said.
The aim of the transit authority is to streamline operations and enhance service reliability, the government has said. (EJ)
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