The Grenada Cabinet has approved the addition of two new bus routes, scheduled to come on stream within weeks.
One service will run from Grenville to Grand Anse, passing through St David, Woodlands, Grand Anse Valley and terminating in Grand Anse.
The other service will see busmen now ferrying passengers from the St. George Bus terminus to Red Gate instead of ending the route stopping at Beaton in St David.
Making the announcement at a weekly government briefing Tuesday, Economic Development Minister Oliver Joseph said they expect that buses will begin servicing these routes in time for the annual carnival festival in mid-August.
The National Licencing Authority will set fares for the new routes and assign a route number for buses.
The new transportation arrangements could face challenges in attracting private bus operators since they are not high-volume routes throughout the day.
While there is a high demand for morning and evening work and school commute, it is uncertain whether there will be a profitable demand for public transportation during the mid hours of the day.
Minister Joseph told reporters that the ruling New National Party (NNP) government has no intention of even entertaining the idea of any form of state-owned public transportation.
Following the news briefing Tuesday, the minister was asked whether the current government would consider filling the gaps where citizens are not served by the privately-owned buses or where operating would not be financially attractive.
Minister Joseph said government tried to run a bus service years ago and that, “did not go well at all”.
He believes that if government tries to get into transportation it would not make money.
The senior government minister was referring to the National Transport Service (NTS) which was initiated by the left-leaning People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG) of the late Maurice Bishop in the 1979-1983 period.
The bus service became defunct in the mid-eighties after Grenada returned to democratic rule post 1983.
Privately owned buses now serve the public transportation needs of the country and while there are government regulations governing their operations, issues such as scheduling is a problem.
Bus owners set their own rules regarding service schedules and most routes are not served on Sundays or after 7.00 p.m week days.