Bussing in TT

It had not escaped my attention some months back that the PTSC published their routes and times.

So one Tuesday at 4.55 pm and in true Trini style, we were rushing for the 5 pm bus to Diego Martin.

We purchased tickets and after asking for directions found the Diego Martin bus already waiting for passengers. It departed not long after we embarked and it was a smooth ride. The only bit of traffic was going across the Mucurapo Road. Bypassing the Audrey Jeffers Highway from the Hasely Crawford Stadium to the traffic lights near the fish depot allowed the bus to shave time off the route.

The trip took about 40 minutes and I got to my destination before 6 pm which was good. Would you believe the bus went to Diego with only a handful of people on board?

To really test the service we decided to try the bus on a rainy day!

We got to City Gate at about 5.50 pm for the 6 pm bus. Several people were already there ahead of us. There was no sign of the bus. At 6.15 pm we thought maybe with the rain the bus was late and Trinidad time was in effect. Dominic made some enquiries and was told that the bus was being checked and would be out “just now.” At 6.24 pm people started getting annoyed including me. The steupses and sour faces betrayed the growing discontent and you know how Trinidadians like to vent.

The heavy downpour made things look ominous. Dominic was surprised to see someone living in his area also waiting. According to her, “desperate situations call for desperate measures.”

What made us Diego people quarrelsome was that Arima, San Fernando and Chaguanas buses (note the plural), came and went. I wondered, “These routes had more people using them? What wrong with Diego people?” The presence of newcomers did not escape the notice of the regulars, one of whom commented about the “taxi people.”

A bus finally came at 6.40 pm, and a crowd surged forward in pouring rain to get on board.

“Let the old lady pass,” someone said. So courtesy led to a few old women being allowed to squeeze through and get a seat. Dominic and I were lucky to get a seat and there were only three people standing when we left City Gate. There’s a camaraderie travelling on a crowded bus in a downpour complete with lightning. The driver even had to stop and wipe the glass because visibility was bad.

I got home safely. It was a cool ride despite the bad weather. If I had relied on a taxi or maxi I have no doubt I would have gotten home very late!

To highlight how transport woes make people try all sorts of things, hear this one. When I got off the bus, there was a man who sheltered briefly with me under my umbrella. He told me he got off at Crystal Stream to walk across to the Valley to get to Simeon Road, where he would have to try and get a taxi to drop him further inside. With that heavy shower, I was hopeful he would get home.

“It’s a whole job to come to work, with all the stress,” said a San Fernando commuter. A Curepe resident described the experience of getting transport, “people have to rush like a pack of dogs in City Gate. Old people jostling with young to get a seat, young people jostling with old. What happens to physically challenged who have to wait for a taxi? With the rain today—pressure. The maxi man gone home to sleep, and the taxis disappear.”

My reminder about the introduction of a rail system was met with the sceptical response of, “that rail system not coming any time soon.”

Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert last week announced that the Rapid Rail Project could cost TT about US$2.5 billion — but this may be subject to change.

That is quite a lot of money and it opened my eyes. The project was described as the large and most expensive in TT’s history. I have no doubt that the benefits (namely the easing of transport problems and traffic on the nation’s roads) will make that ridiculously high sum worth the expense but I hope it is not plagued by the cost overruns associated with so many other State projects which can lead the observer to believe TT has money to waste. I only wish it was introduced sooner but the argument might be forwarded that we never had the transport problems we have today due to 400,000 new and foreign-used cars on the road (and 25,000-30,000 more annually according to Minister Imbert).

In my area — Diego Martin, there are several housing projects. I think demographics should be taken into consideration before approval is given for any more developments. The place is just getting more and more crowded. More residents mean more cars, and more people trying to get out of Diego and inevitably more traffic.

Another option for commuters is to use a private taxi service. This fare can be almost ten times more (as in the case of the Diego route). Then there is the bus which costs $2 to Diego so this is in fact cheaper than taxi (which is twice as much at $4) and maxi which is $3.

Maybe if the Government had taken the bus service more seriously in the past, there would be more public confidence in the service. Now we are willing to invest billions into a rail service which will not be a reality any time soon.