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by pltm
"Watch your step," said Charles Lindsay, known as Lebo, as passengers boarded his red minibus on Tuesday, February 21, headed to East End/Long Look.
Lebo has been a bus driver since 1986 and he still enjoys serving commuters.
"I have been serving the people of East End for all those years. So I go back and forth from East End to town and I also serve the college students who come from Virgin Gorda. I just enjoy it; I just love the job," Lebo told this reporter, who decided to join the bus for a few trips.
Tortola has seen a massive increase in the number of vehicles on the roadway and this might surprise many, but the number of residents who depend on public transportation such as that offered by Lebo, is not relative, with business booming for bus drivers.
"There are a lot of people who depend on the system and I have my people; so I don’t really frustrate myself. I come and do my thing...But sometimes it gets really hectic," said Lebo, who hits the road daily at 6:00 am, with the final run at approximately 9:00 pm.
(PLTM) - Like with many unregulated systems, there are concerns. Lebo, like other bus drivers we spoke with, prefer to work alone and with their individualised schedule. This is something government is looking to address.
Mr. Andrew St. Hilaire, Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Works said that the government is advanced into plans to regulate the bus service system because it is currently chaotic.
St. Hilaire was speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Anthony McMaster.
Some of the issues relate to a fare structure, scheduling and identifying routes.
"The outstanding element of this whole bus system in terms of what government is doing about it is left now for government to publish the routes and fare structure. We have recommendations of what the fares would be---$2-$3, somewhere in that vicinity," St. Hilaire said as he carried BVI Platinum News through aspects of the plan, which has already been formulated, including potential mapped routes.
Currently, the bus drivers are to some extent under the Taxi and Livery Commission, until the bus service system regulations are put in place.
Scheduling/Bus Sheds
While waiting on the bus under the bus shed provided by the Rotary Club of Road Town, opposite FLOW’s Flemming Street store, BVI Platinum News spoke with commuters and the common complaint was scheduling and inadequate bus sheds.
"They need to have a schedule because a lot of people are usually waiting in the hot sun for long hours, because as you can clearly see this is one bus shed in sight all through this area," said a young mother, tightly gripping her daughter to her side.
For the college students who travel by boat from Virgin Gorda (VG) to attend H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC), they prefer a driver who they can call directly.
"The good part is we have the telephone number for Lebo, so like if we come down early he will come and pick us up at the dock…He tries to work with our schedule,” Fyanna Andrews said as she prepared to disembark the bus at the Paraquita Bay campus.
“He also comes for us at nights, even though it’s off his schedule. He comes to pick us up to catch the boat and it is good, especially for us VG students.”
The issue of schedule also affects students.
"However, in the afternoon when he is unable, when we are up there, we wait too long for a bus to pass…I am very faithful to Lebo though," Fyanna said.
"They definitely need a schedule to be in place or enforced to have some order and have things organized," said college student, Johanna Gibson.
"But it's cheap and effective, and for college students that is prime," Johanna said.
Lesette Gumbs is not a frequent bus passenger, but believes that the current system doesn't work too well.
"I personally don’t like it (system), the squeezing and touching, but otherwise it's good. The price is okay; there are some $2 and some $3 from here to East End," Lesette said as she sat under the bus shed in Road Town.
"Lebo's bus is one of the cleanest and nicest. Some I refuse to ride because of the condition."
On the day BVI Platinum News joined Lebo's bus, his usual coaster bus was off the road for service.
Lebo doesn't have an issue with the system as it stands, but acknowledged that some persons may say the buses need a schedule.
"I think I do a good job doing it by myself. I am organized. I work with calls most of the times, not schedule…You see, if you work with a schedule during the day, it will get rough because sometimes it can get very slow," the bus driver said.
He said, "If you do have a schedule, you can end up leaving without any passengers. If you have a schedule to leave town at 2:00 pm, but nobody comes to the bus at 2:00, but you still have to turn off at 2.00...You should go as you get people."
Brian Dean, who has been a bus driver for ten years, differs.
"They need to work on an on-time schedule too. We have enough bus man here in Tortola. We need to work out a schedule. All of us on the road one time...One bus getting two and the other getting three passengers. That makes sense? Let’s make a schedule," Brian expressed.
There are currently 84 bus stops, but with inadequate sheds. Government is aware of this.
"We have actually identified areas where we need the sheds…Within Road Town, city developed areas, we will put the type of bus shed which Rotary has installed for example at FLOW. The older model wooden ones will be for the outer areas," St. Hilaire said.
Government is also reviewing several proposals for the installation of sheds like the ones Rotary has installed. The proposed plan is for the private company to build them and recoup the monies with advertisement on the sheds.
"To me it (sheds) needs to be a little bigger, more seating. People complain about the heat; it's hot underneath. It's kind of uncomfortable," said one of the bus drivers.
Bus driver Brian said, “The bus system is okay enough, but needs changes. I think there need to be more bus stops and they need to be in better locations.”
He added, “Every time we stop, we are blocking up traffic. They need to be in locations where we can pull off the road properly.”
Tracking Drivers
There might be some relief for passengers with the launch of VI Passenger, an App which will track bus drivers and taxi operators in real time.
Phillip Fahie is behind the initiative, which was launched last week.
"The first function is to reduce the waiting time that passengers have with regard to buses and taxis. The App allows you to see in real time buses as they move and taxis as they move in real time," Phillip said.
"So let’s say if I am at the college and I am a student, instead of me going to the bus stop waiting long, I can see where the bus is in real time and just go down a few minutes before they actually pass by."
The drivers and passengers will install the App on their cellular phones.
"What that allows is privacy and when they do not want to be tracked, they click on the turn off App."
Phillip said, "So the drivers have it on their cell phone; when they click on start working, then the passengers who have it installed on their phone, who are looking at it on the website, they are going to see the driver at their current location."
Some Will Be Disenfranchised
There are two sizes of buses which serve East End, West End and in and around Road Town. There are the coaster buses, which can accommodate up to 30 persons, and then there are the mini-buses.
When a route system is introduced, the plan is to have the coaster buses operate the main routes such as from Road Town to West End and Road Town to East End, while the smaller buses will be focused in the hilly, narrow roads and inclined areas.
"The coaster big buses are the proper buses as well as some small mini vans," St. Hilaire said.
However, we learnt that the buses with the taxi license plates will be affected once government moves ahead with its regulations.
"You noticed a lot of them out there are hustling along the routes with a taxi license plate and what they are actually doing is running an informal bus service at the bus price. The challenge is if and when government moves to the next stage of instituting a schedule and fare, it is going to impact those little buses running," the Deputy Secretary warned.
Government is making every effort to accommodate all the buses to be part of the network.
"But the challenge is that will they maintain their route," St. Hilaire lamented.
Also, there is an issue which the regulations hope to cover, which is the fact that some of the bus operators are not working full time.
"They have more than one job and run the service in between times. Whereas, once we implement the structure, you will be a bus driver because you will have to follow a schedule," St. Hilaire stated.
The government has already mapped out the routes on Tortola with the assistance of the Town and Country Planning Department, and laws were already amended to accommodate a bus system. However, confirming fare structure and publishing the schedule are outstanding.
"We are at the point where we could within a matter of 30 days actually roll out the new bus system…We could do it because everything has been put in place, save for the schedule and the price for the service,” St. Hilaire said.
He maintained that the issue is how they are going integrate all the independent operators into the system. “…That I think is our impediment at this time. Not to disenfranchise, but at the same time provide a service that is of benefit for the majority of citizens." St. Hilaire assured on behalf of the government that nothing will be implemented without first holding public consultations with the bus drivers. "At some point in time we will have to do it (implement the regulations)." It is clear that many residents do depend heavily on the bus system daily to get to and from their destination. It may be time for government to face the challenge and hold public consultations. "A lot of people cannot afford to buy a vehicle and depend on the public transportation. They need to streamline it," a passenger said.
