By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Friday 4th June 2021) — West Line and Sugar City Bus Association operators held a joint meeting on Friday 28th May 2021 near the Cenotaph at Fortlands to discuss their concerns about not being consulted before the government imposed the 50% passenger seating capacity measure on public buses. President of the West Line Bus Association Nicholson ‘Rambo’ Webster said there was “no kind of consultation” with the bus fraternity before the decision was made.
Areas discussed included seating capacity configurations (which vary between buses), additional fuel costs from more frequent trips, and calls for a government subsidy or reduced import duties. Webster said the bus associations plan to put together a proposal to the government. “Whenever a decision of that nature is taken which affects the bus fraternity, the government should have sat down with us and had a discussion on the way forward,” he said. He clarified that what the public thought was a strike was in fact the meeting, and noted that any fare change would have to be determined by the Transportation Board.