Elizabeth Gonzales
Chairman of the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) Edwin Gooding is asking the public to feel confident that state public transportation can fill the gap and provide reliable service.
He said this to Newsday on Wednesday after some maxi taxi and PH taxi associations signalled their intention increase their fares.
Give us a try now, see how it works, save some money and get the experience.”
On Wednesday the corporation communicated with commuters via social media urging them to see the value in hopping on a bus.
The post read: “PoS/ Chaguanas $15 they say! We say purchase as many as three tickets and still have enough to buy a Chocolate Digestive. Our PoS/ Chaguanas service is only $4 and runs every hour from 6 am to 7 pm daily.”
This was followed by the hashtags #get with us, #choose the bus, #taxi nothing and #moving people forward.
Gooding said, “We have been trying to compare, in our own way, the value of what we provide in our service to what other services provided at a much higher cost. We have always been trying to show that we are cheaper.”
But many commentators expressed concern about PTSC’s reliability and efficiency of its service instead of the affordable fares.
Gooding admitted that the confidence in the efficiency and reliability of the service has dwindled over the years for many reasons. He said many of these issues have been resolved and PTSC’s services have drastically improved.
“We want the public to know we are an alternative. We have always been there, but for some reason the service faulted at times and people lost confidence. But I think it’s time to look at what value you would be getting and the fact that the service has improved.”
PTSC is currently operating at 50 per cent capacity.
When asked how the corporation is planning to deal with a possible demand of its service with the increase in taxi fare he said, “We would have buses and enough space for anyone willing to travel with PTSC.”
He said the goal is to improve the service to a point where drivers park at carparks on the outskirts of the capital, or leave their cars at home, and use state public transportation in the city.
