If Government increases the current $2 bus fares by 100 per cent, one group of private public transport operators and owners are considering taking only half of that increase, at least for a one year.
The idea of taking $3 instead of the possible $4 recently announced by Minister of Transport and Works Dr William Duguid, was tabled at a meeting of the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) over the weekend.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY, APTO president Morris Lee revealed that the idea has received lots of positive feedback, as operators are mindful of the hardships that their customers are facing.
“Over the weekend I asked the operators to give consideration to $3 because we believe in showing some gratitude to the people that support us. In light of the country’s economic challenges, some of us think that it would be a good idea to do this for the first year, after which we will make adjustments based on factors such as the price of fuel,” said Lee.
However, the APTO president pointed out that this was not solely a philanthropic move, as in return, owners are seeking to get in on the ground of Government’s investments in any clean energy transport sector initiatives.
“There are proposals that we have put to Government in terms of buffering the impact of any loss in revenue by constructing solar-based bus terminals, so that the money from feeding into the Light and Power grid could be used to subsidize any busfare shortfall,” said Lee.
So optimistic was Lee that this plan would bear dividends, that he even touted the possibility of returning to $2 busfares, providing Government makes the investment in the clean energy infrastructure.
“I told them [APTO members] that we could look into charging $3 in the interim, as long as Government makes the investment in retrofitting the terminals and once those terminals are up and running, we can come back to the same $2. We could get the additional $2 from the solar panels without putting pressure on the small income earner,” said Lee, who noted that most owners in attendance were very receptive to the idea.
However, not all owners have warmed up to the suggestion as some argue that any decision to take 50 per cent of a possible $2 increase, must be dictated by the market.
“There are some who are saying that we need to make up for the shortfall that we have been experiencing over the years. Their argument is that with the current lack of buses at the Transport Board, the public, those without their own cars, have no choice but to rely on privately-owned PSVs and therefore it is only good business sense to maximise profits in these times,” he said, noting that this could change should Government follow through on its plan to increase its complement and thereby eroding the private sector control of the transport market.
Lee explained, “With the number of private vehicles on the road, if Government increases its bus complement significantly, the level of competition would push the sector to consider lowering the fare anyway.”
It was during the House Estimates Debate last week that Duguid declared the current fare of $2 charged by the Transport Board and public service vehicles (PSVs), inadequate. But he said: “We haven’t made the decision if it will go up by a $1.50 or if it will go up by $2, we don’t know now, but certainly all of that has to be accessed to make a decision as to where busfares will go.”
colvillemounsey@barbadostoday.bb
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