Some public transport operators have been taking shortcuts with tourists to and from the airport through to the North Sound Road via a dirt road.
And the drivers are blaming traffic jams in the area for doing so.
Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford told drivers that if he had to he would make an amendment to legislation to make provision against this practice. ‘Because that is unacceptable,’ he said.
He was speaking at a meeting held by tourism officials at UCCI last Wednesday for taxi and tour operators.
The Minister said he had had a number of complaints against public transport operators taking a short cut between Owen Roberts Airport and the North Sound Road via a dirt road. ‘I assume, from what I’m told, trying to get to the airport quicker than using the main road,’ said the Minister.
‘Now some of you may have done this, some of you may have witnessed it, some of you may have heard about it. But this is not a main road, it’s not a properly gazetted road, it is in fact a back road and it’s not something we should be putting our tourists, or our residents for that matter, through.’
The Minister said he would immediately be asking the public transport inspectors to look into the situation. ‘If we find anyone doing this there has to be a sanction in place because when we talk about delivering a service, taking tourists through back roads is certainly not acceptable.’
A couple of drivers at the meeting spoke up and said they had used the shortcut, prompted by traffic jams on the roads.
One operator blamed the junction at the start of Owen Roberts Drive by the Airport Post Office. He said there needs to be a roundabout or lights there, and it is difficult to get back to the airport because of traffic.
‘We recognise that junction is an issue and there are plans in place to fix it,’ said the Minister. He said he would speak with the Minister for Infrastructure Arden McLean on the issue of a timeline for this.
Another announcement made by Minister Clifford at the meeting was that the bus depot facilities in central George Town are to be upgraded. ‘It will include a new ticket booth, washroom facilities and a new alignment and organisation for the buses in that area,’ he said.
Also, the public transport operators are to shortly undergo the PRIDE programme (Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence), the customer service programme for the tourism industry. The Minister said the intention is that they will undergo the Promises customer service standards workshop. ‘We will be insisting on [it] not just for the transportation industry, but across the entire tourism industry for the Cayman Islands, and I want to commend this programme to you.
‘It is something you will all gain from. It is in the interests of our tourism industry that we do this, and by extension at the end of the day it will benefit each and every one of us in this room.’
Related Videos
