MoBay Metro woes frustrate staff, commuters
Published:Friday | February 5, 2021 | 12:14 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
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Western Bureau: An issue causing soot to be leaking into fuel being dispensed at its depot and reduced ridership concerns are among reasons behind frustrated commuters seeing an irregular schedule in the roll-out of buses by the Montego Bay Metro....
Western Bureau:
An issue causing soot to be leaking into fuel being dispensed at its depot and reduced ridership concerns are among reasons behind frustrated commuters seeing an irregular schedule in the roll-out of buses by the Montego Bay Metro.
Since the start of the week, commuters who travel on routes serviced by the company in Hanover, St James and Trelawny have been repeatedly left stranded, deprived of their primary source of transportation for hours at a time without explanation.
When The Gleaner visited the MoBay Metro base on Tuesday, the entire 15-bus fleet was at the location.
One disgruntled worker was overheard grumbling that things had gone to the dogs since the departure of former manager at the end of 2020.
Another staff member said that the problems at the facility are rooted in mismanagement.
“We are seeing a lot of mismanagement. There are a lot of persons here that you can talk to, and as you can see, the buses are here on the grounds, not moving,” he told The Gleaner.
“There is no transparency here. The company was functioning with a good management in place, but from the general manager left at the end of last year, things have fallen apart,” he added. “They are saying we are overstaffed, and just like with the JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Company) in Kingston, they are scaling down due to lack of finances, but we think it is totally a different situation here.”
Human Resources Manager Kay Francis swiftly dismissed the concerns, telling The Gleaner that the company was not faced with any major problems, except for the scaling down of operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Like any other company that has to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a few challenges and a few hurdles that we are trying to get over as best as possible,” said Francis.
“You know we cannot carry the number of passengers that we normally carry, so it doesn’t make sense that you act without thinking wisely and smartly. ... You cannot be running the buses with two or three passengers. We have to work during the peak period to ensure [efficiency],” continued Francis.
When quizzed about complaints from employees that no gasolene is being supplied at the depot, Francis admitted that they were having issues.
“We ordered fuel, which is not here yet, and we actually have fuel in the tank, but the maintenance manager has asked us not to issue the fuel because just like water in your tap, there are times when you have this soot inside,” she explained. “We have, like, maybe about half tank, but because the pump itself is at the base, the soot at the bottom seems to be leaking out in the fuel, and that is why we are actually holding the buses.”