The high cost of constant vehicle repairs was the main concern of minibus operators plying the Georgetown to Mahdia route, as they protested yesterday at the bus park over the deplorable road they have to traverse on a daily basis.
Bus operators held placards calling on the relevant authorities to address the state of the road, which has been brought to their attention numerous times. They also threatened to take drastic measures in the coming weeks if nothing was done about the situation.
For about two years now, the Brian Sucre Junction to the Mahdia road, which spans 15 miles in Region 8, has been in need of repairs. It is the main access road to the area and its condition worsens in the rainy season. Operators are calling for an early intervention.
Regional Chairman Mark Crawford said yesterday that the entire stretch of road is in a terrible state. He said the road repair was tendered out about four months ago but no contract has been awarded. Crawford accused the Ministry of Public Works of dragging its feet in handing out the contract. He also said he believes the ministry’s action is political in nature. “The people voted against the PPP, who were in control of Region 8,” he charged. “So they are using this as a form of disciplining the people.”
He said he would like Minster of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn to send the same bulldozers being used to bulldoze people’s homes to fix the roads in the area. (See other story on page 2.)
When this newspaper visited the Route 72 (Georgetown to Mahdia) bus park yesterday, minibus owners, drivers and operators were holding placards with slogans such as: “Mr Benn where is the road money” and “Mr Benn please respect miners safety”.
Bus owner Nelvern Isaacs said the condition of the road costs him thousands of dollars, since he has to repair his vehicle after every trip. “The other day I going up I break the left side spring and the other day I spend like $15,000,” Isaacs said. He added, “But the last two trips, I pay like thirty-something thousand. So we begging fuh dem do something before the rain come.”
Dyron Giddings said he is tired of the state of the road and the failure of the relevant authorities to remedy the situation. He shared the same sentiments as his colleagues. “Every trip something breaking on the bus,” he said. “So if we ain’t get nothing by Monday, we going up there with power saws and throw trees all cross the road so they got to do something about it. Because in dis country it seems like you gah protest before they do something about it.”
The operators also said that they did not think they would be able to use the road in the rainy season if it is not repaired.
Driver, Roger Smith, said they are not interested in politics or anything of the sort but are only calling on the relevant authorities to hand out the contract to the contractor to fix the road. He said that due to the state of the road the time it takes to complete the journey has been extended. “We used to take 45 minutes from the junction to Mahdia but now we taking close to 2 hours just because of the state of the road,” he added.
In the rainy season, passengers are forced to walk to their destinations because some sections become inaccessible. Apart from the inconvenience it poses to women with children, the elderly and the sick, goods being transported also get damaged.
