The Public Transport Service Corporation’s (PTSC) goal for 2019 is to transform into a modern, technologically advanced service with a fleet of 500 working buses.
There are plans to acquire 300 new buses in the coming year, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said in an interview after a function to commission a 1000-kilowatt Caterpillar generator at City Gate. The generator was purchased locally from Tracmac at an estimated cost of $4 million.
Sinanan said the purchase of the new buses has already been approved by Cabinet.
“This is part and parcel off introducing a new modern public transportation system. It is a government-to-government arrangement where they are working with the Chinese government to have a supplier of 300 buses being financed by the government of China,” he said.
“I cannot say the brand of buses yet neither how much it’s going to cost as the process is ongoing. PTSC and the Embassy of China are already in conversation.”
Sinanan said what will be different following the arrival of the new buses is the “way we manage the fleet because what we are hoping to do is to have the fleet managed in real time, meaning that you can stay at a station or at a bus stop and you would know when the bus is coming and how far it is away.”
PTSC’s general manager Bashir Mohammed said mid- 2019 a PTSC app will be launched.
“We want to improve the collaboration between us and our commuters via the app. We should be able to populate Google Maps where you can go and find a route. For example, if you want to go from Point Fortin to Toco you would know which routes and which bus to take via the app,” he said.
