The community of Martins Bay in St John faces severe disruption to daily life due to chronically unreliable bus services, forcing residents to adopt extreme measures for basic mobility. Workers and commuters report leaving home hours early and incurring substantial expenses for alternative transportation amid complete uncertainty about bus arrivals.
Local resident Danesha Maxwell, 26, characterized the service as ‘exceptionally poor,’ particularly during daytime and evening operations. ‘There are days with two-hour gaps between buses,’ Maxwell explained. ‘This creates tremendous frustration for workers with fixed schedules, requiring us to depart at least an hour earlier than necessary since missing one bus doesn’t guarantee another will arrive.’
Multiple residents interviewed near Newcastle junction detailed systematic service failures. Buses supposedly scheduled hourly often fail to materialize, with particularly severe gaps between 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. The transportation breakdown creates safety concerns and severely restricts mobility, with commuters sometimes not reaching home until 7:30 PM despite theoretically earlier departures.
The inadequate service forces residents into difficult choices: walking long distances, seeking rides from neighbors, or paying exorbitant taxi fares exceeding $100 for trips from Bridgetown to Martins Bay. Some residents allege certain drivers refuse to service the Martins Bay route despite instructions, a claim Transport Board Chief Operations Officer Lynda Holder says will undergo internal investigation.
While road conditions in the area show gradual improvement through the Scotland District Road Rehabilitation project—funded by a BDS$230 million loan from China’s Export-Import Bank—residents emphasize that transportation reliability remains the immediate crisis. Beyond infrastructure, community members advocate for enhanced social facilities, including parks and youth engagement programs to address broader community needs.