“Minor issues” befall two new PTSC buses

Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, fourth from left, applauds at the commissioning of 15 new buses for Tobago on Tuesday along with, from left, Finance Secretary Joel Jack, MP for Tobago West, Sports Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, MP for Tobago East, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister -Ayanna Webster-Roy, Public Utilities Secretary Clarence Jacob and PTSC Chairman Edwin Gooding. The commissioning and blessing ceremony of the new PTSC buses was held at the bus depot, Old Government Farm Road, Shaw Park.  THA photo
Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, fourth from left, applauds at the commissioning of 15 new buses for Tobago on Tuesday along with, from left, Finance Secretary Joel Jack, MP for Tobago West, Sports Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, MP for Tobago East, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister -Ayanna Webster-Roy, Public Utilities Secretary Clarence Jacob and PTSC Chairman Edwin Gooding. The commissioning and blessing ceremony of the new PTSC buses was held at the bus depot, Old Government Farm Road, Shaw Park. THA photo

Two new buses from 15 that were commissioned on Tuesday, experienced “two minor issues” on Wednesday while on the road, that were fixed in a few hours, at no cost to the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC).

So said Tobago PTSC’s Director, Learie Paul, who refuted reports that the buses had broken down.

“The bus heading to L’ Anse Fourmi (from Scarborough), the driver misinterpreted one of the warning signs and a light came on and he thought it was an electrical problem. He decided to take the extra precaution to pull over and waiting for technical assistance,” he said, adding that the report from the engineer showed it to be a warning brakes light that came on.

“Where the driver reported it was engine failure, it was not so. The other buses worked as normal,” Paul told Tobago Newsday.

He said with the second bus, which was heading from Scarborough to Charlotteville, the issue was also electrical.

“The issues were identified and the technician collected the bus and drove it back to PTSC station. The report indicates it was a (problem with a) relay switch by the fuse box. It was not a major issue,” Paul said.

He said training of drivers was ongoing.

“… the whole system is fully computerised, and this is new to the drivers. These buses have warning lights for almost everything… We are continuing the training so that the drivers will eventually become accustomed with the operations of the buses.

“We also need to remember some people learn faster than others. From time to time these little issues will come up but these buses were tested before on the roads in both Trinidad and Tobago and there were no issues.”

He said the repairs were done at no cost to PTSC.

The Office of the Chief Secretary subsequently issued a press release saying that PTSC has confirmed that it speedily rectified minor problems experienced by two of its newly acquired buses on Wednesday.

“A report prepared by the PTSC Engineering Department indicates that at 9:20 am the driver of a bus dispatched on the Scarborough to Charlotteville route, stopped the vehicle after the brakes warning light was observed. Immediate checks by PTSC’s trained technicians revealed this was not an error as originally thought but an actual misreading of the device. The driver however has been commended by the PTSC Management for taking precaution.

“The PTSC report also indicated that a bus dispatched on the Scarborough to L’Anse Fourmi route encountered an electrical fault and stalled at the Bloody Bay junction, at about 9:40 am. PTSC engineers have since rectified the fault,” the release said.

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