From crumbling infrastructure to unsanitary conditions, bus terminals nationwide have long needed serious attention. Now, the Ministry says change is on the way. Plans are in motion to renovate these aging facilities, with improvements promised to the bathrooms, seating arrangements, and even drainage systems on the compounds. But as with any major facelift, the question is: at what cost? Today, we spoke with Transport C.E.O. Chester Williams to find out whether the ministry’s current budget can support such an ambitious overhaul. Here’s what he had to say.
Chester Williams, C.E.O., Ministry of Transport
“The money in the budget certainly can help us to a certain extent. Yes, it is not all we wanted. But that can be complimented by what the FinTech have not agreed that we’ll be getting back. I must say that separate and apart from the monies collected from the bathroom, we also receive on a monthly basis almost fifty thousand rental fees. People who are renting boots or stalls at the bus terminals. These money also go into general revenue. So we have the rental fees and we have the bathroom fees adding two of them together over a hundred thousand a month that we are collecting from these terminals. So I don’t see no reason why we should not be able to. Tap into that to make sure that we maintain the integrity of the infrastructure.”
