Long waits, few buses frustrate St John commuters

Residents in St John say infrequent bus services are making their daily commutes difficult, with some reporting waits of several hours for public transport. Barbados TODAY visited the parish to hear people’s concerns in the rural east. One young resident, who did not want to be identified, said he had to buy a vehicle because of the unreliable service: “I work some odd times. I work from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and buses here take too long. A bus from town leaves every half an hour, except around 11 or 10, but to get a bus from here… sometimes it doesn’t come.” Another resident, who gave his name as Nurse, said the wait for buses travelling from town had been a problem for years, although the service had improved slightly with the recent introduction of coaches. He said some buses did not complete their routes when they were full, explaining that “sometimes when the bus is too full it will turn at Villa Nova where it’s supposed to turn at Sherbourne”. You Might Be Interested In Another resident, Karen, who has lived in St John all her life, said people often had to wait hours for a bus. “It’s not good, gotta wait too long. Sometimes two, sometimes three hours.” Karen said: “I have to catch the 5:30 a.m. bus to get to work for 7 and get home after 6 p.m. or something.” She said the service was not always poor, adding “especially when the children are in school; it can be very, very long sometimes, but it’s not like that every day”. Karen suggested: “I think they can expand the route; I guess if they get more buses they will get more routes. Every route is not the same.” A worker at Mount Tabor Primary School who lives in St Philip said her daily commute was difficult because public transport did not take her directly to the school: “My bus drops me by the gas station [at Four Roads], and I have to walk in. I usually get a ride, but it’s a long walk in.” School buses transporting students to Grantley Adams Secondary School in neighbouring St Joseph sometimes brought children to school, while another bus served students travelling to St John. She said there was no regular bus service from outside the parish to the secluded area where she worked. The worker said getting home was easier when she could catch the school bus collecting students in the afternoon, “but if there’s no bus and there’s no ride. It’s a very long road to walk”. She suggested that buses serving the area could be two hours apart, as many were used to transport schoolchildren. “[On] a morning, all the buses go to schools… and on an evening, if you miss the 12 p.m. bus, the next bus is at 2 p.m. and the next bus is 4 p.m. – if you get one.” The St Philip resident said the wait for the Martins Bay bus could also be lengthy, “sometimes three or four hours” Barbados TODAY has requested an update from the Transport Board on its promised review of the Six Roads bus route. (LG)