Time tofix busservice

THE EDITOR: On October 5, a PTSC bus left the terminal in San Fernando for the University of the West Indies at noon. It was raining and 20 minutes into the journey the driver stopped the bus at the Pleasantville traffic lights and announced there was a leak and he was getting wet. He said he has requested another bus.

To the dismay of passengers it took the bus over two hours to reach us. During that time four buses, including another UWI bus, passed us, none stopping to accommodate any passengers, not even the students. We were less than 20 minutes away from the terminal and we had to wait more than two hours.

Students were running late for their classes and the driver offered no explanation why the bus was taking so long and seemed unwilling to help. It wasn’t until a colleague called the PTSC number we were told a bus would be there “soon.”

The Government is hell bent on trying to encourage people to use public transportation but if this is the service we must endure then I understand why everyone wants their own car. The Minister of Finance raising gas prices won’t help people switch to public transportation. Fixing the service may be a starting point.

Every year PTSC is buying at least 100 new buses. Why are none of them coming south? Is it that commuters in the other parts of the country are more important? Can’t at least five buses be added to the fleet in San Fernando?

It’s time to restructure the PTSC and ensure its efficient. The bus service to UWI also needs to run much smoother. I certainly hope something is done soon to deal with the incompetence that is the PTSC.

AMBIKA SAMMY via e-mail