19 Years Later, Still No Unified Bus System

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Despite years of public consultations, studies, and promises, the country still lacks a fully functional, unified public bus system.

Talks of having such a system began in 2006 under the first Christie administration, and successive governments have promised to get the program off the ground.

Then in August 2012, then Transport Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin said the government was moving aggressively to unify the system within a year.

In 2016, the Christie administration gazetted new routes, including Route 17, and road markings were prepped.

Among the benefits of a unified system is smart scheduling for a more reliable service, a mobile app to track buses in real-time, digital “jitney pass” payments for convenience; security, improved accessibility for disabled riders and safety features for added passenger protection.

In 2019, then Transport Minister Renward Wells appeared on Our Tv’s “On The Record with Jerome Sawyer,” where he discussed plans for a Pilot Unified Bus Program, signaling yet another attempt to modernize the system.

Renward Wells – Former Transport Minister

“This is gonna [sic] be about six buses going to criss cross, a lot of the other routes we’re going to be collecting the day and we’re going to be using that data as the foundation and footprint for a unified bus system where we’re going to have designated bus stops,” Wells said.

That pilot program was short-lived, it ended in October 2019.

Since then, efforts toward creating a unified system have once again slowed.

Fast forward to April 2024, Transport Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis announced plans to transform the sector, following her ride-alongs with drivers and consultations with commuters.

“ It was also a great experience to interact with the bus drivers, to hear from them, for them to be able to point out to me areas that has bus stops and show me minister, look, you see the bus stop there, but you actually see where the crowd is…,” Davis said.

Despite all the back and forth over the years, there’re still no answers on if we’ll see a unified bus system in the near future.