Don't buy new ones, refurbish our buses

THE EDITOR: I saw on the news that government plans on buying $500 million worth of new buses in the near future. What a waste of our money.

Why not do an analysis of the buses parked up all over the place and see if they can be refurbished? Surely it's not going to cost $500 million to source the parts needed to repair or refurbish the buses and get them back into use again.

There are derelict buses all over the place. Some are in Carlsen Field rotting and others are at City Gate. Source the required parts and give local mechanics a means of earning an honest dollar by way of repairing or refurbishing these buses instead of buying an entire new fleet.

The $500 million, Mr Transport Minister, can instead go to clearing our drains and major water courses so as to alleviate the major flooding which has caused havoc in many areas of the country.

I rode in a train back in 1981 in the US and it was the most horrible and terrible train ride ever! I went back to the States in 1996 and rode on the No 5 train.

I asked a relative – who at the time worked in transportation in that country – if that state had purchased a new train, and he told me it was the very same train which I rode in back in 81 that I was riding in again. The mighty and rich US saw fit to refurbish that train, the No 5 train, instead of purchasing a new one.

Why can't we have that same kind of thinking when it comes to our buses? You mean to say not one out of all those derelict buses can't be rehabilitated? What a waste of money!

MODICIA MARTIN

Via e-mail