Public Transport Association Reports Progress in Talks with Ministry of Transport in Barbados

The organisation which represents the largest number of public service vehicle (PSV) operators in Barbados is reporting satisfactory talks with the Ministry of Transport on a list of grievances, with progress made on at least one issue.

Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael told Barbados TODAY the discussions on Wednesday with Permanent Secretary Andrew Gittens lasted two-and-a-half hours with headway made on the association’s request for permission to ply the St Andrew route.

However, he said other more challenging matters will have to go to the next level before Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources Santia Bradshaw for a more extensive engagement and possible resolution.

On Tuesday, Raphael said industrial action which was planned for this Friday to protest the refusal of the Transport Authority to even acknowledge the AOPT’s letters requesting a meeting, had been suspended pending the outcome of the talks with ministry officials.

“We have agreed to the need to have further talks. There were a number of issues that were raised but we would need to have further discussions. We agreed that the matters are not off the table and a resolution is still pending, and we are hoping the issues would resolve themselves,” the head of the 300-member PSV body informed Barbados TODAY on Wednesday.

“The discussion will now have to go to the level of the Minister of Transport. It is now left up to the Minister of Transport to have a further discussion on the matter, but today’s meeting was cordial, they were interested and a lot of issues were raised at the level of the permanent secretary. But we have decided we will go to the next level and hopefully, within a week or two, we should be going back to the table.”

Raphael said the association will be waiting on the minister for a date for that meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, he had said the burning issues to be resolved include pirates on the roads, complaints against PSV operators, lack of permits to ply the St Andrew route as well as those that are not serviced by the state-owned Transport Board after 6 p.m., and the working conditions at the Constitution River Terminal, the Cheapside Bus Terminal and the Speightstown Bus Terminal. (EJ)