People’s confidence in public transport is declining

PARAMARIBO - “Research has shown that people have lost confidence in public transport over the past three years,” said Clifton Amoida, acting Deputy Director of Transport at the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (OWT&C). This is due to the irregular arrival and departure times of the buses. According to Amoida, the ministry has found out that people often have to wait far too long for a bus. It has also been proven that most drivers refuse to depart from their inner-city terminus if they do not have enough passengers. This means that passengers have to stand along the road for a long time, and that they are starting to look for alternatives, like a taxi. Amoida said that “this problem occurs on almost all bus routes”. To restore passenger confidence in public transport, the ministry recently launched a pilot project to regulate the arrival and departure times. The project was launched in Hannaslust. During the project, the drivers were obligated to leave their final stop within half an hour, even if the bus was not full. Some drivers complained that they earn less this way. Amoida said that the goal is to make sure that the number of passengers who are picked up along the roadside will serve as compensation for the money that was not earned at the final stop. He also said that “it is the ministry’s intention to also apply this method on the other routes. It is the ministry’s task to apply the correct working methods and rules within public transport. This also means carrying out timely and consistent bus inspections.