BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – BUS DRIVERS of the West Line, East Line and St. Peters Bus Associations resumed their operations yesterday afternoon (Nov. 3) – in time for the 4:00 rush, after what they declared was a fruitful meeting amongst themselves, Minister of Transport the Hon. Asim Martin and senior members of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
The meeting was demanded by the Bus Associations following a tragic event which saw the death of a popular bus operator Kevin ‘Broadie’ Newman. Newman was travelling along the stretch of road between Dieppe Bay and St. Pauls when, during a robbery attempt, he was shot to death.
The bus drivers refrained from plying their routes from 9:30 yesterday morning as a show of solidarity with Newman’s family and they also requested a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Martin to express their concerns, which was granted.
Sometime around 2:00 p.m., the parties met and according to Dale ‘Big Blue’ Hughes, President of the West Line Bus Association, the meeting was “fruitful”.
He said their major concern going into the meeting was their safety, and promises have been made in order to alleviate some of those concerns. He said the Deputy Prime Minister promised that the Transport Board would be revived with immediate effect.
“From the police aspect of things, a number of issues were raised as to police implementing patrols along the island main road, along key areas which are most prevalent in terms of criminal acts performed against bus drivers. The main objective was the security issue as we were most concerned about this and the death of Kevin.
“I raised issues such as the Transport Board which is non-functional. It was agreed by Minister Asim Martin that we would have the board up and running with immediate effect…”
He indicated that other issues which were raised include the placement of proper lighting in poorly-lit areas and the possibility of making the “pay as you enter” principle, a part of the Federation’s laws. Reference the latter, he said it would reduce the time spent at a standstill and would decrease the likelihood of a busman falling prey to a robber.
During the two-hour-long meeting, the importation for and installation of security cameras in passenger busses was also discussed.
“We also agreed that we need to import a number of security cameras that we would place on our busses that would capture any activity on our busses. This would act as some measure and as a deterrent in the line of security and in our operations. It was agreed that we would be getting duty free on these products. And if we import our own, it makes no difference from if we purchase them from local vendors or via the internet.”
Hughes said he believes the public would have no difficulty “coming to our support this time around because they are also at risk”.
A follow-up meeting is planned for next week Tuesday (Nov. 11) at 10:00a.m. where it is expected that a progress report on the Travel Board and other issues would be given.
Hughes told SKNVibes that in a matter of days the combined bus associations would also be meeting to further discuss their concerns.
