Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 09/Jan 03:19

100 years on, same issues linger

THE EDITOR: Over the Christmas-New Year period, I travelled to Tobago using our ferry service. As the inter-island vessel the APT James was out of service, passengers were accommodated on the MV Buccoo Reef instead. I have absolutely no complaints about the vessel itself – the interior was well-maintained and all onboard systems functioned as they should. However, the booking arrangements and revised travel times resulting from the APT James being out of service were chaotic, largely due to a lack of clear and timely communication between the authorities and the travelling public. While everything eventually worked out, the experience highlighted persistent challenges many travellers continue to face. What makes this experience particularly striking is that on January 23, 1916, my great-grandfather, GD Hatt, published an article in the Port of Spain Gazette titled: The Tobago Coastal Service – A Plea for Greater Convenience. In it, he raised concerns about scheduling inefficiencies, idle time, and the need for fixed departure hours to better serve the travelling public. Almost 110 years later, to the very day, many of these same issues remain. Below is an excerpt from his article, written more than a century ago, yet still uncomfortably familiar. “It would be conducive to much greater convenience to the travelling public were a fixed hour appointed for the departure of the ‘Barima’ at Port of Spain and Scarborough. I suggest 8 pm for the former and 10 pm for the latter. The present arrangements are a 6 o’clock departure from Port of Spain every alternate Tuesday evening and arrival at Scarborough at 3 next morning, but no business is done or passengers landed until 6 o’clock. The three hours idling could be done away with by leaving Port of Spain at 8 the previous evening to everyone’s satisfaction. The fixed 10 o’clock p.m. departure from Scarborough will meet with universal approval. The early departure from Port of Spain twice a month was done on my recommendation to assist the then small and slow coastal steamer to perform her itinerary in mail week, but on the arrival of the large, fast-steaming ‘Barima,’ this was no longer necessary. Now we receive and dispatch oversea mails weekly instead of fortnightly, a distinct improvement on the former method.” Isn’t it ironic that more than a century later, travellers between Trinidad and Tobago are still calling for what my great-grandfather asked for in 1916 – clarity, consistency, and convenience. GINA HATT Port of Spain The post 100 years on, same issues linger appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.