Nightmare for watertaxi and coach users

THE EDITOR: I reside in south Trinidad and work in Port of Spain. I, like hundreds of other commuters, rely on public transportation on a daily basis. I write to express my absolute annoyance with both the PTSC deluxe coach service and the Nidco water taxi service.

Let me firstly address the water taxi service. It is well known that there are four water taxis, the Carnival Runner, the Calypso Sprinter, the Paria Bullet and the infamous Trini Flash. For as long as I have been using the service, only two boats were ever in operation at the same time, for reasons unknown.

Since July 16, the service has been operating with only one boat. South commuters, especially those who work 8-4, are aggrieved as there is no longer a 6.30 am sailing nor a 4.30 pm sailing.

As such, we have been forced to use alternative modes of transportation including the coach service. While commuting with the coach service over the July-August vacation period was bearable as there was considerably less traffic, now it is totally intolerable. Even when I get on a coach which leaves the terminal in San Fernando before 6 am, I arrive in Port of Spain after 8 am, on some days after 8.30 am.

Further, the terminal building on St Vincent Street in Port of Spain is defunct. As such, on afternoons I am forced to traverse to City Gate to access the coach. Initially, the terminal provided seating for passengers and the coaches left at allotted times. As of recent, to access the coach service at City Gate is a nightmare. No seating is provided and the number system has been abolished so passengers are forced to stand in lines for hours and the coaches do not leave on time.

Sometimes passengers who arrive at the terminal at 3.30 pm are informed that the next bus will be at 4.40 pm and this 4.40 pm bus does not arrive until after 5 pm. After a “nightmare commute” on mornings, we are forced to endure another on afternoons.

Commuters on the north-south route have been suffering due to poor management of both the coach and water taxi services.

On September 5, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan gave some bold assurances in one of the daily newspapers as to when the water taxi service would be fully functional. To date, this has not materialised.

In addition, the construction of the $14 million water taxi pedestrian overpass makes no sense if the water taxis are not even operational. At present, three of the water taxis are non-operational and have been docked at the San Fernando terminal.

I am therefore calling on the relevant authorities, in particular Minister Sinanan, to have all four water taxis operational. Further, I would be grateful if the minister can also address the issues with the coach service, in particular the non-functional building in Port of Spain. For too long people on the north-south route have been suffering.

CANDICE ALEXANDER via e-mail