The management of the Barbados Transport Board has been challenged to improve its negative image to the public with emphasis on reliability and commuter information.
Speaking today at a Press conference to launch a transfer system from Oistins to St Christopher, Silver Sands and Fairy Valley, Minister of Transport and Works John Boyce said these attributes could only build commuter confidence.
Boyce, referring to the most recent National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE) report, in which the Transport Board was rated as an underperformer in the public’s eye, said while he was not surprised, he was considerably buoyed by the Board’s management plan to do something about it.
“Our public relations programme must be a daily commitment to excellence,” the minister said. “This will be manifested in how we treat the old lady from Poole Land or Fairview, who has been sitting waiting for a bus since 12.30 p.m. and cannot hear any word. No one has come up to her and asked anything. She remains crumbled on a bench almost scared to approach our people lest she be rebuffed . . . . We must make hard decisions to change that image. Our comfort zones at the Transport Board will be under renovation,” Boyce stated.
The transfer system from Oistins to St Christopher, Silver Sands and Fair Valley, beginning with Sunday services only, gets going on April 17.
