COASTER bus operators who ply the Half-Way-Tree (HWT) to downtown Kingston route are not buying into the Government’s proposal to relocate them from a lay-by which sits in the vicinity of Mandela Park and the HWT clock.
The plan is to relocate the operators to the HWT Transportation Centre, less than 100 meters away, where pickups and drop-offs will be permitted.
The proposal was announced by chairman of the Transport Authority (TA) Owen Ellington during a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday.
According to Ellington, who is a former commissioner of police, the idea is to have the coaster bus operators who run from Red Hills Road and Constant Spring to HWT and also to downtown Kingston begin to pick up and let off passengers inside the HWT Transport Centre.
The chairman said the move would free up the roadways, blaming the bus operators for regularly stopping to pick up and let off passengers in live lanes, causing traffic congestion. He also raised the issue of extortion and alluded that the HWT Transport Centre would provide a safe space for operators.
Despite Ellington’s explanation, numerous coaster bus operators were livid on Wednesday when they spoke to the Jamaica Observer, claiming that the Government had an agenda other than what was stated.
The coaster operators also charged that the move was a way to interfere with their earnings, whilst also chiding Ellington for speaking on their behalf and stating that they have an issue with extortion.
According to one conductor, “The men what dem say collect money, we don’t have problems with them. If they change the system, it is going to cause riot. They are watching the money that we are making. Life is easier out here where everybody can eat a food. If they try that, Andrew Holness cannot win again.”
He added, “They say they want to stop extortion, but they can’t really go against it. If your main source of income is to collect from the buses and you change the system, what is going to happen? They say they are trying to stop extortion, but we feel they are trying to set up the Jamaica Urban Transit Company drivers against coaster drivers. They are also watching the fact that the boss will get between $25,000 and $30,000 per day. They hear that conductor will get $10,000 for the week. It’s like they want their piece,” the outspoken conductor said.
Further, one driver said things are fine the way they are right now.
“Remember that right here, we are all right. We don’t want to go over there with the Government’s yellow buses. We are not even going to get to stay over there and load the bus properly. They say we have no manners and behaviour, but at the same time, they don’t have to deal with us like that,” he said.
Another driver, also incensed, said taxis will start to get all the work if the proposed system is implemented.
“The people are going to run into the taxis. Who is going to take our buses? People are not going to wait on us. You will join the line of buses for one hour and people just walk past and gone inna taxi. They leave you and you feel like an idiot. The people love ready done, so the system they propose about the Transport Centre is not going to work out. Everybody knows they can find us right here,” he said.
In the meantime, Ellington said there are some concerns about extortionists who will be impacted and may want to impede the operations in the transport centre.
He pointed out that mechanisms are being put in place to deal with potential threats and said vehicles coming into the transport centre will be given a specific time frame within which they can drop off and pick up passengers.
“We have spoken to deputy commissioner in charge of crime to send members of the organised crime branch to the centre because we are going to commence an assessment of the potential for criminal activities impeding our efforts. I assure Jamaicans that we are doing everything necessary to ensure a reliable and secure public transport system,” Ellington said.
In support of the drive to relocate the buses, Ellington said there are plans to erect directional signs that tell drivers and passengers where pickups and drop-offs can take place.
He added that a meeting with the coaster bus operators inside the HWT Transport Centre was scheduled for Wednesday at noon but had to be postponed as a key person to the discussion was unavailable until the middle of next week.
