Alliance calls for urgent action in public transport sector

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]The Alliance of Public Transport is raising red flags about growing challenges in the sector from violence at terminals to a lack of access for persons with disabilities.

[00:00:11]Recent incidents at Cheapside Terminal have sparked calls for increased security and a more coordinated national response. Chief Executive Officer responsible for communications and public education with the Alliance of Owners of Public Transport, Mark Hines, spoke to CBC about the issues. We are concerned that they are having some challenges there in terms of security.

[00:00:33]We heard of incidents which have taken place there quite recently and we are very concerned about the incidents that have taken place.

[00:00:41]Of course, security is paramount and we are urging our workers in the sector to be fully aware of what they are doing and be aware of passengers uh who are about to aboard the respective vehicles.

[00:00:54]Because we know we have no control over persons who whose intentions are not good. And therefore, we have to be guarded against all kinds of things in that terminal. He says people are boarding buses with weapons and this, he says, poses a threat not just for other passengers, but also to PSV operators. Meantime, Director of Complaints with responsibility for the disabled community, Quentin Banfield, says accessibility remains a major issue for that community.

[00:01:24]He says they've been having meetings to come up with a plan to bridge that gap.

[00:01:29]We are going to make a proposal for the blue blue route.

[00:01:35]The blue route will consist of transportation going between different communities where the disability community lives or works. As such, by doing that, we allow them to be able to get to points, for example, hospitals, clinics, uh doctors, whereby they will be able to have a closer um transport point to where they want to go so that they are going. Chairman of the Alliance, Raphael says another concern is that of a drop in passenger numbers. They've seen a decline in numbers. Obviously, we believe that this would have been a result of the fact that a number of vehicles that was on the road um we are hoping that a feasibility study will be done to determine why the drop in passengers um among the public service vehicle sector.

[00:02:28]Um what we can say it may be attributed to the fact that the they have a lot of cross country roads such as the Spikesown ABC route, the city circle, the southern circle. And those areas are which I believe that more people be opting to go to catch rather than going to Bridgetown. The Alliance is urging government, stakeholders, and citizens to work together to restore order, safety, and efficiency to the transport system.

[00:02:57]The group says without urgent action, the issues could worsen affecting both commuters and the country's reputation.

[00:03:06]DeAnnza Roberts, CBC News.