The Cayman Islands Government is planning to merge the National Roads Authority, the Public Transportation Unit and the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing into one unified transport body.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure said that the process was still at the strategic overview stage, but bringing all three of its transport divisions together into one body would streamline processes, improve operational efficiencies and improve the overall customer experience.
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It was only fairly recently that all three bodies came under the same ministry, as the Public Transportation Unit, which is responsible for bus and taxi services, had for many years been under the remit of the Ministry of Tourism and Transport before being moved to the ministry of planning in mid-2024.
The planning ministry has issued a Request for Proposal tender via government’s online procurement hub, Bonfire, for providing project management services to support the organisational restructuring programme of the merger.
No name has been decided on as yet for the new transport unit or who would run it, but it is expected to remain part of the ministry of planning.
Government pledged to improve roads and public transport in its Strategic Policy Statement and in recent months has restated its commitment to modernise the bus network, make Cayman’s roads safer and increase the number of taxi drivers on island.
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One thing for sure, any merging of departments, will not reduce personnel numbers.
If done properly, this has the potential for improved efficiency. Some current processes are multi-egancy now.
Once again Civil Service departments will be tasked with implementing Government policies. But please get it right the first time, this time.
Not a bad idea to amalgamate these Units, or seek a more “joined-up” approach, but is this not somewhat of a “band aid” and a deflection from the real solutions needed? Grand Cayman urgently needs a proper Transportation strategic plan, and an immediate focus on traffic congestion, public transportation, and a host of intelligent non-capital expenditure solutions, to supplement and reduce the expensive capital solutions. We are running out of land space for new roads, new lanes, and round-abouts. Does anyone care about the “carrying capacity” of these Islands?