Public urged to use bus stops & refrain from catching rides on roadways
The community has also been urged to utilise the bus service and avoid catching rides on the roadways, especially in the heart of Road Town.
Mr Parsons was speaking on the GIS Report on Monday, September 30, 2024, with Government Information Officer Giovanni Herbert when he said the Road Town Market Square is the most centralised location for the bus stop as it has the most walking traffic.
“Persons looking to be connected to the various communities can go to the bus stop, buses currently operate on a first come first serve basis with an hourly turnaround time,” he said.
While travellers have the option to choose whichever bus they’d like to travel on, the bus operators that show up first will also be the first ones to leave.
Bus operators approached Commission to revamp community bus service
Bus stops in central locations have not been available since the passage of the hurricanes in 2017.
Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Kye M. Rymer (R5) in February 2024, said preparations were underway to re-establish a Community Bus Service in the Territory with the completion of the Road Town Market Square Bus Shelter as the first phase.
Mr Parsons said following the completion of the New Road Town Market Square, bus operators approached the Commission wanting to help reestablish the community bus service. “They were able to form an executive committee and one of the directives was basically to send a proposal as to how we’ll put this thing into play, and they’ve since put forward a proposal.”
Currently, the Commission is in the phase of reviewing the proposal and charting a way forward.
Bus operators to run day-to-day; tentative schedule in place
Mr Parsons did say that while the Commission will overlook the community bus service, the bus operators for the most part will run the day-to-day.
A schedule, that may change, is in operation with the first bus leaving East End at 5:30 AM and the last bus departing the town for East End at 8:00 PM.
The turnaround times could be decreased from an hour to thirty minutes or even fifteen minutes as the bus operators continue to operate daily.
Additionally, there may be an increase or decrease in fares, Mr Parsons stated.
He also said a proposed schedule needs to be approved by Hon Rymer and approved times, routes and fares will be subsequently published by the Commission and the Ministry.
Public encouraged to use bus stop
Five slots across from the bus shelter in Road Town are for buses to park and wait.
“That is the staging area for the buses…five buses can fit while they wait for passengers across at the bus stop. Ideally, we’re trying to alleviate the congestion on the Walter James Francis Highway, buses would stop there from time to time abruptly and cause a traffic disruption. So, we’ve created this space for them to stage and lay in wait for persons,” he explained.
Therefore, members of the public are being asked for their cooperation. Mr Parsons encouraged those looking to catch a bus to use the bus stop and not wait on the roads.
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33 Responses to “Public urged to use bus stops & refrain from catching rides on roadways”
You are the %$£…ing MOOMOO DARM BUSH FOOL. The person was just saying something. People like your bush a.. don’t know any better. You know what I would love to do to some of you bush people? Take a bunch of you to Yankee Stadium in the middle of winter, drop you off in the cold with just your passports and see how many of you will have enough common sense to find your way back to the BVI from the Bronx.
Passengers using most of the Bus Transportation usually have to come into the flow of traffic especially by that roundabout in road town
no one regulates the disruption cases by those bus drivers(please do wait until someone gets run down
You all ever seen a bus stop .
Try again
These moo moo build a bus stop where NOBODY WAITS TO GET RIDES and now trying to force them? The thing is a waste of %$£*& money and was a DUMB IDEA FROM THE BEGINNING!
what person would feel comfortable waiting there for a bus? not me. those poor young women probably feel even more vulnerable going there
The roads dont even have sidewalks, the hills dont have steps, there is no bike lane. When people are powering through and making do within their means the big shot big salary big car control freaks want to tell them to not catch ride.
Tortola is the safest place for catching rides that builds community spirit. The people who came up with that they want to stop feeling guilty passing us on the road buh stop catching ride.
1 2 3 4 5 6 am you can catch ride here safe where else in the world can you do that?
When I was driving I gave people rides. Now I dont drive I catch ride but when I drive again it could be your relative being picked up by people you have bad minded against. This island is to small for everyone to turn into a villain. Its a circle you bump into the same people over & over.
Government built a buss stop in the wrong spot next to the market in a wrong spot and NOW the taxi approach to revamp community buss???
There been buss running!!! No one ever said to revamp it or invest in it.... now the other taxis & government want to replace it.
You guys want to throw a wrench in the system without understanding the game or the players. They say dont catch ride to funnel people into their corrupt system. WAKE UP & follow the dollars!
Here we have no infrastructure, buses stop randomly where they want even on the two lane highway where vehicles are accelerating or moving at a pace. No rules at all.
And here's 'the boss' begging the drivers to use an out of the way stop as some kind of solution?
Smack my head, indeed!
Well. People have no other choice but to do that because those bus stops are being used for liming
cool-out spots. I hate to see people sitting down along the roadside doing nothing all day. Long ago, growing up, Tortola was not like that. That is a bad habit don't know where it comes from.