By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS who rely on public transport for their daily commutes claimed that the only people being affected by the government’s changes to bus stops in downtown Nassau are them.

Passengers yesterday voiced their displeasure with new industry regulation, many calling on the government to quickly reconsider.

“It is really unfair to us – not them, to us. The people that depend on these buses to get to work and to get home, those are the people that feel this most,” screamed one angry passenger at the new stop in front of the Government Publication Building.

The passenger added: “This is truly unnecessary. You have to walk from CR Walker all the way here in many cases. Imagine what’s going to happen in the rainy season. Look at this traffic, look straight down Bay Street – it’s backed up and I hear that many of the buses are parked over at Arawak Cay. Imagine what this would look like when all them buses start running again and all of them have to stop at this one spot. This is just stupid.”

Dozens of drivers were delayed nearly 15 minutes after “chaotic conditions” led to a minor accident directly opposite the new bus stop. The sounds of car horns and loud complaints could be heard nearly 200 yards away.

Public Transportation Representatives (PTR) chairman, Harrison Moxey, suggested that things will continue get worse until the Minister of Transport, Glenys Hanna Martin, sits down with the group to correct the matter,

Mr Moxey said: “We are opposed to the stop, but we are open to discussing ways to resolve this issue. It is not our intent to prolong this matter. All we want is an opportunity sit and talk because we not only want the best for us, we want what’s best for all parties involved.

“If we had a chance to sit at the table and voice our concerns a lot of this could have been totally avoided. Instead the Road Traffic Department fast-tracked their process and carried out their ruling without our input, completely inconveniencing the general public and starting this mess,” added Mr Moxey.

Association members claimed the new regulations put both passengers and drivers at risk for “unnecessary confrontation”.

A number of drivers used the implementation day of the new routes to make a clear statement that they were not in agreement with them, opting to park the buses at Arawak Cay in protest. Buses parked at the location carried “out to lunch” signs. One driver claimed “this lunch break is an extended one”.

Last week, PTR drivers voiced their displeasure over a recent decision by the Road Traffic Department to restrict four bus routes from stopping in the heart of Bay Street.

The Road Traffic Department posted signs and circulated notices around the island informing drivers and passengers that as of February 2, stops for routes 1, 7, 16a and 21a would be relocated in front of the Government Publication Building on Bay Street.

At the time Reuben Rahming, deputy chairman of the PTR, indicated that industrial action was a possibility, but did not specify the group’s plans.

The bus drivers claimed that Bay Street merchants are using issues surrounding the public transportation industry as a guise to rid downtown of Bahamians and called on Prime Minister Perry Christie to overrule the decision.

Mr Moxey added: “While we are opposed to the new stop we are not opposed to the change, we simply believe that change should be for the better.”

Road Traffic Controller Ross Smith called the relocation of the downtown stop from its original site near Royal Bank of Canada to the Government Publication Building “the result of a long process”.

According to Mr Smith, his office had received a number of complaints about the placement of the Royal Bank stop and had toyed with the idea of relocating the stop to other locations.

Mr Smith added that he feels the pain of the drivers and was willing to meet with the group to improve this situation. He did say, however, that the new regulated stop near the Government Publication Building would stand despite the demands of drivers.