John not too keen on elderly bus stop on Halifax Street

Head of the Traffic branch Superintendent Kenneth John says he is not too keen on the proposal of the National Omnibuses Association (NOBA) to allow van drivers to discharge elderly or disabled citizens on Halifax Street, in front of CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank.{{more}}

In an interview on Wednesday, John said he knows if such permission is granted, van drivers will go overboard.

“They are only saying elderly, but I know they will be filled with schoolchildren and they will tell you that they are elderly. For me, I will say no,” John stated.

However, John said he is not ruling it out.

“If one of my traffic officers sees a van setting down an elderly person there (CIBC) or anywhere else and still give the driver a ticket, I won’t support that.”

While making it clear that it is an offence to stop an omnibus in a place other than a bus stop, John said the driver can be warned.

“…I know some of them (van drivers). They will let out a strong person and say the person’s back is sick and so on. I object to that one,” he stated.

At a meeting of NOBA last weekend, president Anthony “Code Red” Bacchus said they were not asking for a bus stop to be placed at CIBC FirstCaribbean on Halifax Street, but stated that they wanted to assist the elderly persons, who commute daily by omnibuses.(KW)