The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE pilot project to determine the feasibility of a unified busing system is in progress, according to the Minister of Transport, who said: "Nothing is set in stone."

Frankie Campbell told Tribune Business: "The project is in train. It is being facilitated by the Ministry, so I'm not directly involved. There is nothing the present government has done to impede it. We have done everything we could to facilitate a committee of bus owners and operators, who are themselves are overseeing that. I have made whatever resources that are in my purview available to them and I await them.

"The intent of the project is to collect data that will assist in making some decisions moving forward. There is nothing written in stone, but the intent is to determine how feasible it is to have a unified bus system. That isn't to say that the results will say one thing or the other, but the intent is to find out how feasible it is.

"It is a project that is being assisted by the IDB, and so that committee continues to work with representatives from the IDB in that regard."

The proposed unification of the public bus system is part of the New Providence Road Improvement Programme (NPRIP), funded by the Inter­-American Development Bank (IDB), which also involved the upgrading of the island's road network.

A $530,000 pilot project will demonstrate how the busing scheme will work, in an effort to boost the island's "economic efficiency and sustainability".

The Minnis administration has announced plans to establish a unified busing system - fuelled by smart technology - as part of a plan to improve the transportation network within the Bahamas.