Decades of growing traffic gridlock around the Constitution River Terminal in Barbados have pushed transport officials and law enforcement to announce a dual-pronged plan: targeted revisions to local traffic routes paired with aggressive enforcement against widespread road indiscipline among public service vehicle (PSV) operators and commuters. The intervention comes after sustained pressure from the Alliance Owners of Public Transport, which has repeatedly flagged crippling congestion at key chokepoints including Nursery Drive and the Charles Duncan O’Neal bridge.
To immediately ease flow for vehicles accessing the terminal, the government has confirmed it will reopen the Nursery Drive access point opposite Queen’s Park, a change designed to streamline entry and cut down on idle time at the busy interchange. But senior leaders have stressed that infrastructure adjustments alone cannot fix the root causes of the island’s persistent road problems.
Speaking on the crisis, Minister of Transport Kirk Humphrey noted that while many PSV operators consistently follow road rules, the overwhelming share of bottlenecks in the Constitution River area stem from deliberate violations by operators who refuse to use the purpose-built terminal facilities. “We created the terminal for the vehicles to go inside and park. They’re supposed to pick up and drop off there, but they don’t want to do it,” Humphrey explained. “If indiscipline is going to be your nature, no matter what system I try to put in place in terms of where traffic is allowed to go, indiscipline is going to be indiscipline.”
Humphrey called out common reckless behaviors, highlighting that operators of the island’s iconic ZR minibuses often stop in no-stopping zones, and that drivers frequently park for extended mid-trip conversations that block entire lanes. He emphasized that while operators are justified in requesting infrastructure improvements to ease congestion, the current lawless behavior cannot be blamed on anyone other than the violators themselves. Going forward, he warned, the government will pair ongoing community consultations with stepped-up legal enforcement, with repeat offenders facing immediate penalties.
Jason Bowen, Chief Technical Officer of the Ministry of Transport and Works, confirmed the details of the route adjustments, noting that the current terminal entrance configuration creates unnecessary hazards and delays for ordinary private motorists as well. “We have had discussions with the Traffic Branch of the police and the Transport Authority, and we are going to recommend that traffic be returned to the Nursery Drive access. Too much congestion is occurring on the other end, and we cannot allow that to continue,” Bowen said. Additional strict restrictions are also planned for the Nelson Street and Green Hill corridors, including time-bound drop-off zones and the rollout of automated surveillance cameras to track vehicles that loiter in unauthorized areas.
Ruth Holder, Director of the Transport Authority, added that commuters share a large portion of the blame for the ongoing chaos, saying passengers often actively encourage illegal stops and push back against enforcement actions. “When we offload vehicles at the entrance because of safety infractions, we get cursed by passengers because they have to walk further. It doesn’t make it any easier for us,” Holder explained. She revealed that the authority has ramped up enforcement efforts since late last year, now reviewing public and social media-submitted video evidence to penalize reckless operators. Between December 2023 and the end of July 2024, authorities suspended 82 PSV operating permits for repeated violations.