The Transport Board, being mindful of the members of the travelling public who are dependent upon our services to conduct their daily activities, wish to apologize for the ongoing issues in our service delivery. Unfortunately, these issues might continue in the immediate future as we seek to address external challenges that are beyond our control. We acknowledge that we had committed to improving bus availability and was on the path to this when school commenced in early September when we had 110 buses on the road.
Regrettably, as a result of the recent passing of Tropical Storm Kirk, a number of buses which traversed areas with rushing and/or high water levels experienced damaged panels and other electrical issues. This situation resulted in approximately 40 buses having to be removed from service. Since then, of those buses, we were able to return seventeen to service.
Additionally, a container of parts that had been purchased through Simpson Motors, to assist in the maintenance and refurbishment project, was damaged at the port in Kingston, Jamaica on route to Barbados. This situation has placed us in a difficult position as it has further delayed the return to service of a number of buses.
This delay in the access to parts has led to a domino effect. Buses that are awaiting inspection by the regulatory authority (Ministry of Transport Works and Maintenance) have also been impacted and are presently not operational until issues identified can be corrected.
All of the above have contributed to the situation that we are presently experiencing. We are therefore asking the traveling public to be patient and to work with us, as these maintenance issues are addressed to improve our service delivery. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.
