The Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), Roy Raphael, has thrown his weight behind the government’s proposal to introduce staggered school hours to ease worsening traffic congestion. But, he insisted that a park-and-ride system must also be implemented to provide a more comprehensive solution.
Raphael, speaking to Barbados TODAY in response to news first revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw during the Estimates in the House of Assembly last week, said traffic issues in several areas had worsened significantly over the years. He stressed that a major intervention was urgently needed.
“I think it’s a good idea because, you know, rightfully what we continue to see when the schools are on vacation or when they have semester breaks, we see free flow of traffic. The number of persons buying new vehicles [for] the roads in Barbados are really alarming. In a sense it creates congestion for us as public service vehicle operators and not only us but generally the travelling public,” Raphael said. “It creates issues for us, particularly on certain routes, major routes, such as Speightstown, Waterford Bottom and the Oistins area. Those routes we have found take us longer. It could take an additional time of almost two hours from one destination into Bridgetown.”
In addition to supporting staggered school hours, Raphael stressed that PSV operators are keen to play a role in a wider park-and-ride system. He suggested that designated parking areas could allow commuters to park their vehicles and use public transport options to reach their destinations more efficiently.
The AOPT chairman explained: “The association . . . made a number of suggestions, which we are hoping that the government can also look at implementing to ease some of the traffic congestion. We are interested in working with the government with a park-and-ride system . . . we have had discussions with previous ministers about how we would be able to create the park-and-ride. We have identified certain areas where persons can park their vehicle and allow the [vans or buses] to take them into Bridgetown [and other major areas].”
Raphael stressed that a properly managed park-and-ride system, supported by police and traffic management officials, could significantly reduce congestion in traffic-heavy areas.
He said: “I mean, you got to be managed carefully, [using] the police and the traffic management of the MTW, but with new businesses going up in any area, such as Holetown or Speightstown, I believe that we will see a continuing [rise] in traffic. I’m thinking similarly to Oistins and similarly to the Lawrence area where they have a number of hotels and so on. The flow of traffic will have to be managed very carefully.”
(SB)
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