PTSC DRIVERS BUSS IT

File photo by Shane Superville
File photo by Shane Superville

Bus service came to a halt for several hours yesterday morning at City Gate in Port of Spain after Public Transportation Service Corporation (PTSC) bus drivers refused to drive their buses along the Priority Bus Route (PBR), over fear of being attacked and even shot at when driving through the Beetham district.

The decision caught commuters off-guard and there were long lines at City Gate which hours later, soon became deserted when commuters left to seek alternative modes of transport. The drivers’ decision to withhold their service came less than a week after Beetham residents threw debris on to the highway, PBR and Eastern Main Road and also shot at police after two men from the area were arrested.

The violence prompted Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to address the nation last Friday and indicate that his government and the security forces would not tolerate such criminals acts as those carried out in the Beetham.

Bus driver and branch president for the Transport and Industrial Workers’ Union (TIWU) Marcus Grannum yesterday claimed that two PTSC buses were damaged after being struck by missiles thrown by Beetham residents during the violence last week Thursday. Grannum confirmed that drivers staged a protest in light of the violence in the Beetham.

He said drivers fear for their lives after the two buses were attacked and their windows smashed last Thursday. Grannum said the issue of security along the Beetham portion of the PBR has been one that has been unresolved by the PTSC and by extension, the security forces.

This photo circulated on social media, shows a bus with its windscreen shattered. Protesting drivers claim the bus was attacked last week in the Beetham. The PTSC says the damage was as a result of an accident at the PTSC's shed in City Gate.

“Apart from the danger drivers face on the PBR when in the Beetham district, the current office of the TTPS is dilapidated and rat-infested. It was originally given to us in 2006 as a temporary facility, but here we are in 2017 and we are no closer to getting updated facilities. We are calling for a meeting with Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to address these issues,” Grannum said.

Yesterday, when Newsday visited the PTSC terminal at City Gate, dozens of commuters waited in line for transport to Central and South Trinidad. A woman said while she understands the bus drivers’ anxiety, she is concerned that a protracted protest by them could cause major disruption.

“It’s really unfortunate what they have to go through these drivers, but there are a lot of elderly people and parents who depend on the bus service for transport. This could cause serious chaos for people.”

During a press conference at TIWU’s offices in Laventille yesterday, president general Roland Sutherland expressed optimism that the police would deliver on their promise to provide increased security along the PBR from the Abattoir in East Port of Spain to Morvant Junction.

Sutherland also confirmed reports of buses being attacked with missiles and even being the target of gunfire over the past seven months and said despite repeated calls for an increased police presence, the authorities have only now responded because of the Beetham violence last week.

Contacted for comment, PTSC chairman Brian Juanette claimed no PTSC vehicle was damaged during the violence in Beetham last Thursday and photos shown on social media of a bus whose front windscreen was shattered, was the result of an accident in the PTSC yard involving employees.

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"PTSC DRIVERS BUSS IT"

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