BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN little more than a week, the Traffic Department would be enforcing the use of Bus Stops by omnibuses that have been erected across certain sections of St. Kitts.
Some 40 locations, 20 between Basseterre and the RLB International Airport and 20 between Basseterre and Camps, have been identified for the mounting of Bus Stop signs.
Traffic Department Head Inspector Cromwell Henry explained that the move became necessary following numerous complaints by motorists about the on-road behaviour of omnibus drivers and also the complaints of the bus drivers themselves.
“We’ve had a lot of complaints from other motorists about the frequency of the stops by busses and the risk that they pose as a result of these stops. Following those complaints, we thought that one of the solutions would be to identify areas and make it mandatory that they stop in these areas only. There was also representation from the bus association for the implementation for bus stops and their request for the stops was to reduce their operation costs which results from their frequent stops.”
The Inspector informed that to date only 28 of the 40 signs – which were donated by both TDC and Digicel - have been erected due to a shortage of material.
“Our supplies have fallen short in delivering 12 because of material shortage. So they are awaiting their shipment of material to complete the order.”
And as a result, the initial July 1, 2012 date of implementation had to be pushed back to August 1.
Until such time, Inspector Henry is asking “both the bus operators and their passengers to use this period to familiarise themselves with the location of the bus stops that are already erected and to get in the habit of using them so that by the time enforcement begins it would not be difficult for persons to use bus stops”.
Henry explained that from August 1, it would be mandatory for omnibus operators to collect or drop off their passengers at the designated areas, and failure to do so would result in a $100 penalty.
