Serve notice!
That is the response from president of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) Marilyn Rice-Bowen to Government’s rollout of the cashless system on Transport Board buses from December 1.
Rice-Bowen said recently they supported the move and embraced technology but a public education programme, complete with demonstration points for senior citizens, should have been done first.
She said she expected to hear public service announcements from November 15, for example, advising that the change would go into effect on December 1.
“You cannot expect to go to sleep tonight or, wake up tomorrow morning and hear there is a change. Give people time to get acquainted with change; you’re dealing with seniors,” Rice-Bowen told the DAILY NATION.
Under the system which is being done in phases, pensioners with a pinned Trident Identification card need only scan it on entering the bus to continue to enjoy the free ride.
Last Friday, chief operations officer at the Transport Board, Lynda Holder, said there would not be any major changes for seniors even under the new system.
“This is just an electronic method of us recording travel, but a lot of misinformation was out there that we keep trying to correct. A number of the old age pensioners have not pinned their Trident ID card, so we kept reminding persons that it didn’t matter whether their card was pinned or not. Travel didn’t change,” she said.
Commuters who did not pin their cards would be tracked with a tablet mounted at the driver’s side, Holder added.
However, Rice-Bowen said it was natural for seniors to get “jittery” when they heard of changes to their routines. They would have queries about what would happen if the machine rejected their cards, if they still had the old ID card and so on.
She said the same advance notice being afforded to police officers and students, the next to be added, should have been given to senior citizens.
“We don’t have a difficulty with where they are going, but we have a terrible difficulty with the manner in which it is rolled out. One has to be conscious that you are dealing with seniors, persons who are not comfortable or familiar with the technology,” Rice-Bowen said.
She said the Transport Board could have reached out to BARP for them to be used as a demonstration point to show seniors how the system would work and answer any queries. This way, they would not opt to pay to avoid it or stay at home. Something similar should have been in place at the terminals or other places across the island.
“All you have to do is to involve the members of the travelling public, particularly our seniors, in the decision. Give them time. Give them notice.”
Holder said the system would be up for review in about two weeks.
When the system becomes fully operational, commuters will be using a metro card, similar to that in European countries which can be topped up at the various bus terminals. It will be in operation in all buses under the Transport Board, including those in the Transport Augmentation Programme commonly known as TAP.
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