As much as Barbadians will not want to lose ZR vans government should consider reverting back to government owned transport sector. Currently ZR vans and mini buses are a multi million dollar sector in this country. Money which THIS GOVERNMENT NEEDS at this point. My opinion is this. The large transport buses are unnecessary for our roads. Most of our roads are narrow and can merely accomodate two vehicles much less a large Transport Board bus. If government were to get rid of that entire fleet of large buses and replace them with smaller buses the size of mini buses they might be better able to provide for the needs of commuters. As it stands the larger buses are expensive however mini buses are more affordable, (afterall many private individuals own one or two mini buses).

If government has more buses on a route versus the current one or two they should be able to run every 15 - 20 minutes versus every hour for some routes. Secondly if ZRs and mini buses are reduced on the rad it would 1. lessen the amount of traffic on the road, 2. free up some of the police currently in use either policing the ZR stands 3. Reduce the amount of traffic offences in traffic court and possibly make it possible for magistrates to be spread across different sectors. It would most definitely put money back into government. At present there are so many ZRs on teh road, there really is no need for transport board buses. How does government benefit from ZR vans? they dont. Most owners have two or more ZRs. Calling for at ;east $350 per day, operating 6 days a week. This is on average $8400 per month for a private owner.  Governemnt at this point if struggling to maintain these huge bulky buses which are often empty because commuters are taking ZRs. 

If permits to the owners at this time dont have expiration dates then they should. Governement needs to introduce a policy where NO MORE PERMITS to ZRs and minibuses are being issued. The only privately owned taxis should be 'Z'. Permits that are in circulation should have a life span of 5 years. Which means that permits will expire exactly five years after their initial issue.The termination of these private vehicles will free up much needed space in Bridgetown.  If possible take over the best of the fleet of currently operating minibuses and ZR vans.  Look at the routes currently facilitated by the ZRs and see how to incorporate them into government. A government who strives to please rather than protect is usually one inviting chaos.

Submitted by Lorna Jordan