Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart, says privatizing the Transport Board is not the answer to the statutory corporation’s problems.

Addressing his constituency branch meeting, Mr. Stuart indicated that such a move will not be in the best interest of the public.

“Government has shareholders too, and our shareholders aren’t people who went to the bank to get any money to invest in anything. Our shareholders are old age pensioners, unemployed people, the disabled, school children and all of these categories in the society whose needs have to be met from day to day and we cannot always look at how much money we’re going to make from these people because in many respects, they’re not able to carry the same burden that welfare and better persons can carry.”

The Transport Board has not purchased new buses since 2006…and Mr. Stuart points out that given government’s financial constraints, the Board will have to focus on repairing the old fleet and becoming more efficient.

As it relates to the privately-owned public service vehicles, the Prime Minister says there is room for them to co-exist with the state-owned buses.