Two public service vehicle operators were hailed as heroes by the Transport Authority after they rushed an elderly woman to the Maurice Byer Polyclinic when she fell gravely ill while travelling on their Speightstown to Bridgetown route last week.
Christopher Barker and Jamal Gibson, who ply the Speightstown to Bridgetown route, were formally recognised on Friday in a brief ceremony at the Speightstown terminal for a life-saving act after they rushed an elderly woman to medical care when she fell ill aboard their van last week.
The incident last Wednesday, when the woman suddenly became unwell while travelling, was witnessed by Barbados TODAY senior multimedia journalist Sheria Brathwaite at the Maurice Byer Polyclinic in St Peter when a PSV van sped into the car park moments later. Inside were the driver, a police officer and the visibly distressed woman. Medical personnel immediately responded, bringing a stretcher and escorting the patient into the clinic as the urgency of the situation unfolded.
Director of the Transport Authority Ruth Holder said the actions of Barker and Gibson reflected the kind of professionalism and compassion that often went unrecognised within the sector.
“It’s my great pleasure this morning to present you all and to acknowledge and recognise the good deeds that both of you did on Wednesday, 14th of January,” she said.
She explained that the authority’s response was intended to be both symbolic and practical.
“Today, not only do we want to acknowledge what you did, we want to present you with something that is tangible and something that’s intangible,” Holder said.
The intangible reward, she explained, was a certificate granting access to the Public Service Vehicle Training Programme, which includes first aid, customer care, defensive driving, insurance and business management.
“The training is important for you. They also have the first aid component. They also have self-improvement, also have defensive driving, and customer care,” she said.
Holder added that the tangible reward came in the form of gift vouchers. “Everybody loves to eat. So what we did is that we got together with Pier One and we got you gift vouchers,” she said.
In expanding on the training programme, Holder said the course begins with an intensive focus on customer service, followed by sessions on Transport Authority and road traffic regulations, insurance, and operator health and wellness. “We also do a first aid component,” she said, adding that while Barker and Gibson responded adequately in the emergency, formal training could further strengthen response times. “Their response was quite adequate and we do appreciate that response that came from them,” she said.
Addressing longstanding criticism of the sector, Holder said the actions of the two men underscored the positive work carried out by most operators.
“I will go as far as saying that 80 per cent of them who are excellent, who comply with the law, who do what is required of them,” she said, while acknowledging that a minority continued to damage the industry’s reputation. She stressed that the authority remained actively engaged with operators behind the scenes “because we care about people and we care about the public of Barbados”.
Barker and Gibson thanked the Transport Authority for the recognition and said they remained committed to conducting themselves with professionalism, adding that they would continue to play their part in helping to raise standards within the PSV industry.
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