Park & Ride shuttle to become a permanent service in Road Town
By Kamal Haynes, BVI News Staff
The ‘Holiday Season Park and Ride’ shuttle service which was operated in Road Town recently is expected to become a permanent service on Tortola.
This is according to Minister of Transportation Kye Rymer, who told BVI News the decision was made following the success of the pilot initiative during the Christmas season.
“The pilot park and ride shuttle service through Road Town that started on the 16th of December and ended on the 24th of December was a public-private partnership with Romasco Group. This project was a seamless and successful venture and I want to publicly thank them for partnering with the Ministry of Transportation, Works and Utilities,” Minister Rymer stated.
“Plans are underway to have a permanent park and ride shuttle service throughout Road Town that should complement public transportation,” he added.
Passenger statistics
Minister Rymer also said statistical information collected during the nine days of service, confirmed that hundreds of persons used the service to traverse the capital.
“Data collected shows that the heaviest usage was between 11 am to 2 pm. On the first day, we moved about 120 passengers (using two drivers and two shuttles). The other eight days we moved an average of 75 passengers daily,” Rymer added.
In a government-commissioned media release last month, the minister had stated that the initiative was aimed at addressing the traffic congestion experienced within Road Town during the Christmas season.
Persons who opted to use the service, which cost $1, parked their vehicles at the festival grounds in Road Town and were transported in shuttles to multiple points in the capital.
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No thanks! I like the idea but my safety is paramount and I wouldn’t be caught dead in a glorified golf cart through the streets of Road Town.
Speaking nonsense!
Hon. Rhymer for god sake, please stop the madness! The park and ride over the Holidays was an abject failure and very ill-conceived! If we want a proper solution to traffic especially in the Road Town area, all we need to do is fix the festival grounds PROPERLY AND PERMANENTLY so that it can accommodate parking for a few hundred cars and be set up in a way to host Festival activities in the summer. On the outer banks of the grounds, create a food van village and take all these vans from on the streets taking up valuable space. Legislation needs to be updated to give police/traffic wardens jurisdiction in parking lots so idiotic drivers can be ticketed/towed etc. Piling people up on a little golf cart that cant hold anyone properly over 150 lbs is just dumb and we need to just stop it. It’s a good little gimmicky ride for tourists but it’s not a solution for the issues that we face with traffic and congestion in town.
You have the right idea. ??
I see a car wash just set up in there.
I totally agree with @GetSerious. With all due respect to the individuals and groups associated with the golf carts, I have made it my duty to observe the use of the golf carts during the Christmas Season and I can confidently say that the safety of the passengers were not considered. In addition to that, there was no ease of traffic in the Road Town area. Majority of the persons using the carts did not own vehicles. This is based on the minimal number of vehicles parked in the park and ride facility.
Respectfully, allow me to suggest that the expensive vehicle the Govenor wants, in order to replace his current one, is there any way they can cut on the budget for the car to be able to facilitate a proper parking facility that can accommodate sufficient vehicles?
Furthermore, maybe we need to cutback on unnecessary Government spending and focus on the areas that benefit our people. Especially our kids. We need proper schools…are our children no longer the future?
Where did the proceeds from this venture go?
Determining the success of this initiative based on usage during one of the busiest season of the year is not proof of success. I wish people would use some more common sense in the BVI.
Yea, good move!
Your a** is so stupid that you have me cracking up! ????
By the way just like Puerto Rico who just had the heavy 6.4 magnitude earthquake, don’t think that your self glorifying ass can’t get killed right in your d**n home stupid!
Just another MVW/NDP hater of a VIP government!
Callwood will have a field day with those seat belt-less carts….lol
Its good. But not for people who have their own vehicle. If you really did proper research you will see that the majority if not all riders were people who didnt have a vehicle or their vehicle…and this includes tourists. I wonder how the taxman going feel about that!
wha he mudder in law comin wid now?
Waste of time….all of them!! Shallow
How about a regular scheduled bus service around the island
Maybe the golf cart owners need some more favours so it has to be extended
I dont think 75 passengers or $75 a day (at peak season) is a viable income level to cover transportation costs. It may be a tourist gimmick but i dont think its park and ride
That’s why there are so many over weight people in tortola putting a strain on nhi with health problems..let their lazy behinds walk through road town, they need the exercise..
By them greedy can’t get enough genes must be from west end
there needs to be designated pull offs for taxi to pick up passengers en route to east and west. the roads/sidewalks have to adjusted so when taxis are picking up and (dropping off) traffic does not have to wait 5 minutes for the taxi to collect their money and the passenger to exit the vehicle
The need to regulate the importation of used cars on the whole. Too many used and cheap cars coming out of Japan that are over 10 years old. This product is competing with the local dealers that are investing huge sums of monies and adding positively to the economic activity of jobs, rental of apartments by employees, loans, parts and services for cars sold, employees shop at the supermarkets, etc. On the other hand, the individuals who are bringing in these used cars do not have a trade licence to resell cars and the used cars eventually are left on the roadside for lack of funding by the owners to purchase the parts that become too expensive. The cost of car removal becomes BVI Government problem and a strain on the already limited revenues.
When you purchase grocries and other heavy items how would they be transported in a go cart? 2. Very heavy set individuals, how are they going to juggle in a seat, much less hold a bag in their lap? Sounds good on paper and for a short term season to ease congestion, but NOT a permanent solution. Taking into consideration that more than the average size person in the BVI has more weight than you Mr. minister.
The shear stupidity if BVI politics and politicians is amazing.
First, allow and encourage an alternative free-flowing rapid minibus transit system like Saint Kitts or Guyana.
No need to reinvent the wheel. Road Town isn’t on such a level or scale that Park & Ride is necessary. In fact, Tortola isn’t large or populated enough for that.
Simply get rid of the problem (which is too many vehicles) by eliminating the need for each person to find their own means of transport. Treat the disease, not the symptom.
The government created a taxi tariff.then the same government going to undermine that taxi tarriff.where is no vision people perish.road town the capital was very poorly designed,and you have to blame the planning authority for a poorly designed city.the traffic congestion is at the worst ever.what are the solutions in fixing these issues.1.we need the traffic going in and out of town to be more effective.my solution is from Russell hill build and over pass going straight to the complex.one from fort hill to the complex in peak rush hour times you get the in and outbound traffic moving rapidly.