By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Unified Bus Drivers Union has blasted the government’s push to unify New Providence’s bus system, accusing officials of neglecting the industry for decades while forcing reforms drivers say are unnecessary and damaging.

General Secretary Corvell Colebrooke, speaking yesterday at the Huffers bus stop downtown, said bus operators have kept the system running since 1958 without government support and will resist attempts to consolidate services under a central authority.

“How,” he asked, “can you say unify a system that has never failed the country? We have never failed, we are here, 365, 366 days of the year, the buses are on the road. You don’t need to unify the system, you need to follow the rule of law.”

Mr Colebrooke pointed to poor conditions endured daily by passengers, noting that major stops lack basic amenities.

“Today we are here on Huffers bus stop, which is a major bus stop for five major routes in the bussing system,” he said. “As you can see, we are standing in the hot sun. It has not reached the peak of the sun yet at 92, 93 degrees. Presently. no bus stop, no bus shelter, no benches for the people to sit down on and wait. They have to stand underneath one of these buildings, which is wrong.”

He accused successive administrations of abandoning the sector and criticised Transport and Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis for failing to deliver on promises.

“Minister Davis, when we first met you after the election of 2021, now it’s 2025, we are then 12 to 15 months away from a general election, and you have not done your job,” he said. “You have failed the busing system”. He said the Road Traffic Controller had “not once yet came out to see what is going on with the system”.

Mr Colebrooke said oversight from the Road Traffic Department is virtually non-existent, with only “one fella in one car” monitoring multiple routes. He argued that weak enforcement has allowed reckless driving to flourish, adding: “There are a lot of complaints. The union answers it. We call the drivers, we talk to the drivers, but then our senior drivers say, when there were road traffic officers on the road doing the job, they didn’t have this problem.”

The union is also frustrated by the government’s failure to deliver the second stage of a fare increase. A 25-cent rise last May pushed fares to $1.50, but the further increase expected in December never materialised. Mr Colebrooke insisted that only a $2 fare would be fair, citing soaring fuel, maintenance, and parts costs.

While plans for a unified system remain on the table, insiders say progress has stalled amid legal and organisational hurdles. The government is still considering how to consolidate drivers and franchise owners under a single structure.

Last year, officials touted a proposed $40m Inter-American Development Bank project to address long-standing weaknesses, including unsafe stops, poor infrastructure, and inconsistent fare collection. At the same time, the Public Transportation Company said it was finalising its business plan for a unified network. Surveys conducted by the IDB found passengers widely dissatisfied with unreliable service, safety concerns, and inadequate facilities.

Despite these challenges, Mr Colebrooke vowed that drivers will not let the public down. “As I said, it seems like they want us to fail, and we are not going to fail,” he said. “We are fighting high fuel prices, high parts, and we are still here. It’s a hard fight, but we’re not going to fail.”