Bus blues in Tobago

THE EDITOR: I refer to the news that only a fraction of the PTSC's buses (two or three) of a fleet of some 35 were functioning in Tobago. It reached the media because Tobago was severely embarrassed when a cruise ship came calling and both locals and foreigners were in need of transport to take them to Scarborough and Crown Point to contribute much needed commerce to the island.

Now, if you know foreigners from the US they are accustomed to an impeccable bus service and so they loathe taxis and I personally benefited from this a few years ago when I vacationed in the Bronx.

There was a sign on the bus shed where I waited and at the prescribed time a bus arrived and took us straight to Manhattan for a just a buck or two. A cab would have put us out somewhere along the way when the meter reached US$100.

And here we have a subsidised service which is quite deficient when needed. Why does it take three hours for a bus to reach Charlotteville or anywhere in Tobago? Does the PTSC not consider Tobago part of its catchment remit or is it that as an arm of the Government it is punishing Tobago for voting out the PNM? Can you imagine how disappointed our foreign visitors must be?

One local passenger, a pensioner, made an important point – he could not spend the $9 taxi fare and had no choice but to wait for the bus. This is the plight of many. Fuel prices are pauperising the nation.

But then the police are also joining in on the slaying of the golden tourism goose. If you were in Tobago over the Carnival weekend, it is quite likely you got wrecked without warning at Crown Point as parking is prohibited on Crown Point Road. There are no signs or warnings, since this is how the police welcome visitors to the struggling island. They just want $500 from Trinidadians.

The next thing you can expect is THA Minority Leader Kelvon Morris moving a motion to fire the Transport Secretary for failing to provide an adequate bus service to Tobago, even though it's a PNM-appointed PTSC board of management. Maybe the ruling party will also blame covid19, or the Leader of the Opposition and Watson Duke will chime in, supportively, like he erroneously did with the Roxborough contingent.

When can we ever expect a state corporation to function? I am now left to wonder if we are back to the pre-People's Partnership days when the PNM was in charge and there was one bus servicing Tobago.

Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell, MP Shamfa Cudjoe, how are you feeling?

LINDA CAPILDEO

St James