by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada
Scores of complaints have surfaced against the move to relocate bus operators in the big parish to the new bus terminal in Moon Shadow Park, Grenville.
Last Thursday, buses plying the routes in the St Andrew Zone 2, Zone 6 and Zone 9 areas were ordered to line up at the Grenville Bus Terminal.
Over the holiday weekend, NOW Grenada journeyed to St Andrew to speak to bus operators who said that the long-awaited opening of the facility — which is welcomed by Grenville Bus Association — seemed premature since the facility is clearly not ready for use.
The construction of the bus terminal was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and included the construction of the Mirabeau abattoir and Grenville Market Square as part of the greater Grenville project. The EC$35 million project was launched in September 2011.
President of the Grenville Bus Association Abraham Munro said the toilet facilities are not suitable for the public, and there exists another logistical challenge for buses plying both the St David and St George’s route.
“… they should have some meeting with us on what are the pros and cons of being here and how we can adjust; because everything seemed to be [have been] done in private…We don’t have the facilities needed; we don’t have water and good toilet facilities, and the way they put us, lined up with the buses like number 2, is competing with number 6 for passengers.”
According to their website, one of the services of the Grenada Ports Authority is the bus terminus. Bus driver Marcus Peters says he hopes that the Ports Authority can rectify the problems immediately.
“My point is it is not ready at all; you have problems with bus loading, you have problems with buses too close, and you have no proper toilet facilities.” Peters is also calling on the police to remove a ‘no entry’ sign on the Canal road which leads into the town of Grenville.
“The police put a ‘no entry’ sign on Canal road; you now have to go up Salisbury road to come down into Grenville which in my opinion was not necessary, because if the police say it has no bus stop in town, you cannot drop or pick up passengers. I think it is hard to block buses from coming through the town.”
Meanwhile, as a result of the relocation of the buses, the Ministry of Works authorised that the following changes take effect immediately:
- Parking of private vehicles will no longer be allowed at the Grenville Bus Terminal;
- All bus routes will now commence and terminate at the Grenville Bus Terminal;
- Pedestrians are to walk ONLY on the pavements at the back of the metal rails;
- No buses would be allowed to occupy the streets in the Town of Grenville;
- Commuters are to utilise the loading bays as prescribed in the Grenville Bus Terminal and;
- NO Vending will be allowed on the compound of the Grenville Bus Terminal.
Efforts to reach the relevant officials at the Ministry of Works proved futile.