Residents of Fairy Valley, Christ Church, say access to public transportation has become nothing but a myth.
From schoolchildren to the elderly in the close-knit community are suffering daily because public service vehicles (PSVs) which have permits to travel the area are refusing to do so, opting instead to go off-route to more lucrative places.
Residents are therefore forced to walk a strenuous two miles to and from their homes, car pool or rely on friends, family or even strangers to give them “a lift”.
“The vans mark Fairy Valley but they don’t come out here. They bypass us and go up to the airport and Sam Lord’s Castle which is off-route, because they say that is where the money is,” an elderly woman lamented.
“They have our faces marked and when we put out our hands, they say they are not going up there, ‘catch the van behind’ and the van behind say the same thing. So we can be out there for hours,” she added.
Community activist Earley Yarde bemoaned the situation, saying it was taking a toll on residents, some of whom have lost their jobs, arrived home from school late or are forced to leave home as early as 7 a.m. to take the only Transport Board bus which travels through the district before the other bus at midnight.
“We have called the Transport Authority. The residents of Fairy Valley went through every avenue possible to get this matter rectified and no one is coming to our aid. This is something that needs to be addressed as urgently as possible.
“The vans put out Fairy Valley residents here at the corner of Parish Land so they have no alternative but to walk for two miles to get home,” he told the Weekend Nation.
Yarde admitted that the road leading to the community was “atrocious” but said that was not the reason why the vans were refusing to travel there.
“There was a lot of construction going on at the airport with a lot of big trucks that were doing work at the back of the airport. They caused some of that damage, and all the persons come and do was fill-in, so the road is bad.
“The vans put the people off at Parish Land, then they have to walk Thyme Bottom and then Wilcox Hill and then up to Fairy Valley, or some of them drive to the church at the corner and put off the people, but that is still a long walk,” he added.
A 15-year-old schoolgirl as well as other residents spoke about getting a “drop” to Oistins, Christ Church, on evenings but having to wait for two hours for a driver to decide to take them home.
“When I get home I am tired,” the girl cried.
Mother Charmaine Kirton said she too was forced to leave home as early as 7 o’clock on mornings to get the Transport Board bus to Bridgetown to board a minibus back to Newton, Christ Church, to work.
“If I don’t do that I would not be able to get to work. By the time I get home on evenings I am so tired, I don’t eat anything. All I can do is bathe and go to sleep because I have to get up early the next morning. My daughter is only 15 and she is stranded on evenings. It’s
a serious thing especially with all of this crime and stuff.”
Fifty-three-year-old Margaret Yarde, who has lived in the area all of her life, said the lack of transportation had hampered her from moving around.
“I ain’t getting in no van and paying my $3.50 for them to put me off to walk home. The devil is a liar,” Yarde declared, as she recalled on occasions insisting to the driver that she was not getting out if she was not taken to Fairy Valley.
“You can imagine walking from the gas station all the way to Fairy Valley with groceries in your hands?”
she asked with a sigh.
Pointing to a bus stop outside their home, Margaret’s daughter said it was just there for style.
“I don’t know the last time a van pull up here,” she said.
An 18-year-old girl, who did not want to be identified, recalled how she was accosted on her way home by two men and two women two years ago while walking along the dark and bushy road because the van refused to take her to Fairy Valley.
She said the scary situation remained with her to this day.
Shakira Scott, who operates a hair and nail salon, said the situation was affecting her business as many of her clients did not have transportation and were unable to get a PSV to come to her.
“Right now, my business is struggling because nobody don’t want to take the long walk to come to me and then can’t get a bus to leave. This is unfair,” she said.
Her friend, who was visiting from the United Kingdom, also spoke about the hardship of getting to and from Fairy Valley. “I don’t understand how you are paying them bus fare and then they telling you to get off and walk. If they have permits to travel this route, they should travel this route,” she stated.
