Govt gets thumbs up on Tobago seabridge

These were some of the findings contained in the Green Paper on Consumer Protection in the Information Age, which was laid in the Senate on Tuesday by Legal and Consumer Affairs Minister Christine Kangaloo.

Section 9.4 of the Green Paper states that while transport services linking Trinidad and Tobago has been the subject of severe public criticism over the years, the situation has significantly improved on the sea bridge with Government’s decision to wetlease the conventional ferry MV Sonia and the fast ferry The Cat during the December 2004- January 2005 period. Despite numerous criticisms from the Opposition UNC, NAR and DAC, the document said both ferries have been instrumental in improving the efficiency of the Tobago seabridge, with "fewer problems with stranded or inconvenienced passengers" (especially during this year’s Easter period when there was significant traffic between the two islands).

The Cat (wetleased at a daily cost of US$23,800) ended its service in April and was replaced by a second fast ferry, The Lynx. The MV Sonia’s wetlease expires in December and former works and transport minister Franklin Khan said Government hoped to be in a position by August to decide whether it would opt for a seabridge with a conventional ferry, fast ferry and cargo vessel or two fast ferries and a cargo vessel.

During the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election campaign in January, Prime Minister Patrick Manning hinted that Government would seriously consider purchasing the MV Sonia or a similar vessel. Tenders are due to be issued for the cargo vessel and there are also plans to release the MV Beauport from service and sell the MF Panorama once the right complement of vessels have been acquired for the Tobago seabridge.

While Government’s efforts to improve the efficiency of the seabridge appear to be on track, however, there remain numerous problems towards achieving a similar efficiency on the Tobago airbridge. According to the Green Paper, consumers have advocated the creation of penalties or automatic refunds to be imposed on domestic and sea carriers when passengers are bumped from their scheduled travel times. However, the Green Paper said economic realities make mandatory penalties or refunds difficult for such measures to be implemented "for local carriers in particular."