By Akil Franklyn on Thursday, 3 March, 2022 at 09:57 PM

Though restrictions have been eased allowing public service vehicles to carry close to maximum capacity, the quantity of passengers has not reached pre-pandemic numbers. 

Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transportation, Roy Raphael is concerned that although standing passengers are allowed, the amount of commuters travelling on PSVs still remains troublingly low. Raphael believes that passengers remain cautious and are still reluctant to be in a fully packed vehicle. 

Some Barbadians have given their reasons why they believe that many have not yet resumed public transportation. 

“To be honest, we still are on a work from home mandate, working three days or two days a week; I use a taxi. It is more expensive, but it is more convenient,” UWI employee Janelle Blackman said. 

Veteran minibus driver, Everton Browne, believes that the fear of crowds was not the only reason for the low turnout of passengers. 

“Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of people that did not have their own vehicles before actually went and purchased cars, so that is a group of customers that have disappeared. Then you have the fact that up until recently, schools were still online, so you have to consider that as well,” Browne said. 

“I think once school resumes in full swing, you will see an increase in the numbers,” he concluded.