Minister of Transport and Works Kirk Humphrey has reaffirmed that under the Mottley administration, no senior citizen will ever be required to pay bus fare on Transport Board buses.
As the House of Assembly debated the Older Persons (Care and Protection) Bill, the senior minister stressed that this commitment remains unshakeable, regardless of any future partnerships with the private sector.
The minister framed the legislation not as an act of charity but as a fundamental debt of gratitude owed to those who built the nation. Drawing on his personal and academic roots in the rights of older persons, Humphrey spoke on the state of aging in Barbados, challenging the society to return to its core values of community care.
Addressing rumours regarding the potential privatisation of transport services, Humphrey was categorical:
”Let me make it clear. There will never be, under this administration, any time where older persons have to pay to use buses in this country. It is not the policy of the government. That free ride for older persons will continue regardless of whatever structure we settle on for delivering transport to Barbadians.”
He further extended this guarantee to other groups currently receiving free transport, including police officers, ensuring that the drive for efficiency would not come at the expense of the vulnerable.
The minister invoked the Socratic philosophy that “the unexamined life is not worth living”, urging the country to look inward at how it treats its elders. He noted a worrying shift away from the traditional Barbadian community spirit:
”How did we get here? Where Barbados, that was once known for its community spirit and its mechanisms of care, have now put older persons in a position where many of them feel invisible, left out, and neglected? My view is that dignity does not expire at 65 or 67. In fact, we have a responsibility as people get to that age to put a little bit more effort in.”
As the minister for transport, Humphrey highlighted the inextricable link between infrastructure and social well-being. He argued that a cracked sidewalk or a lack of bus shelters does more than just hinder movement – it breeds isolation.
He said: ”If you cannot feel comfortable going to a bus stop because there is no shelter… older people will stay home. And therefore if you stay at home, it means that you are not going to the doctor. If you choose to stay at home, it means that you are not going to see your friend. Getting older should not mean losing independence in these things that are so easy to be able to resolve.”
He challenged the transport ministry to move beyond “standards” that are unfit for a modern Barbados, insisting that walkways must be well-lit and accessible for those with disabilities and the elderly, for whom “darkness is experienced differently.”
The Older Persons Bill introduces a rigorous framework to combat neglect and financial exploitation. Humphrey expressed particular pride in the creation of a confidential register of abusers, ensuring that those with a history of mistreating seniors are barred from working in care facilities.
”This bill says that older persons are right holders and that they are not just passive recipients of government’s largesse. It recognizes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial abuse—including when people take your pensions or your savings. Silence can no longer be used to protect abusers in this country.”
Humphrey issued a direct challenge to the Social Empowerment Agency and relevant authorities to move beyond passing laws to actively enforcing them. He noted that while the stars have aligned to bring this “transformative” legislation to the House, its value lies in its application.
”Protection delayed is protection denied. We have to enforce what the bill allows us to enforce. We have to put in place the systems to benefit the persons that we’re meant to protect. Use the legislation. Enforce the legislation. You judge a country not by the way it treats the people who are strong… but by the way it treats its vulnerable.”
(RR)
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