Bus route pass reset under scrutiny as old system appears to persist

2026-03-29 - 01:25

Lead Editor – Newsgathering Nearly a year after it was condemned as a “free for all” and targeted for reform, the Priority Bus Route pass system has been reset, but official figures show distribution continued unchanged through the transition, raising questions about whether the system was ever fundamentally overhauled. When Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stood before reporters on May 22, 2025, she framed the Priority Bus Route (PBR) pass system as one of political favours that had gone unchecked. “A simple thing as a bus route pass was being used like a given out Kiss cake or what you call it, cookies, you know, hops bread, bake, whatever... this thing was like really, little gifts without substance,” she said. Just a few weeks into her second stint as prime minister, Persad-Bissessar was painting a picture of corruption and excess under the People’s National Movement, more specifically under Rohan Sinanan, then minister of works and transport. What followed was a directive to her Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Eli Zakour. She wanted 645 PBR “letter permits” to be recalled by July 1. The current system would be replaced by something more accountable and less vulnerable to abuse. Over the past six months, Guardian Media sent out a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, hoping to discover a picture of what followed and whether the mandate was met. The recall fell short of its original scope. By the July 1 deadline, 132 passes had been handed in. At the same time, the distribution system did not pause. Between July 1 and September 15, 2025, 123 new PBR passes were issued. By early 2026, the ministry said 140 passes had been distributed to private citizens, alongside 41 to Members of Parliament and 30 to Senators. Zakour kept his promise and declined a permit and continues to do so, according to the ministry’s response. The ministry confirmed that 360 permits were eventually returned, well short of the 650 the Prime Minister said were out on the streets and mandated to be returned. The ministry said that some were returned voluntarily, while others were recovered through the Transit Police, Traffic Wardens and the Licensing Authority. In other words, passes could have been seized from vehicles on the Priority Bus route itself and returned to the ministry. The overlap between recall and reissuance raises a central question of who, exactly, ended up with the new passes. That formed the basis of the FOIA requests. Guardian Media sought the names of individuals who received new permits, along with application details, issuance dates, and whether recipients had previously held passes. The aim was to determine whether the system had been reset or simply recycled. However, the ministry declined to provide the names despite the fact that, during last May’s post-Cabinet briefing, egged on by her ministers, Persad-Bissessar publicly named several individuals she said held PBR passes. Shortly after that May post-Cabinet conference, an Excel document was circulated listing the names and licence plate numbers of 438 individuals. The document also outlined the occupations and stated reasons for the passes, ranging from essential services and security personnel to government officials, private contractors and a category labelled special requests. In its response, the Transport Ministry said releasing that information would amount to “unreasonable disclosure” under the FOIA and could expose the State to legal liability by infringing privacy rights. The ministry would have to reach out individually to holders to ask for permission to release the information. The response said application letters contain personal details, including contact information, licence plate numbers and identification documents, placing them within exemptions under the Act. It also indicated that redacting those documents to allow partial disclosure would require substantial human resources. In the final FOIA submitted earlier this month, the ministry also outlined how the approved passes were distributed across categories: 47 for medical purposes, 62 for execution of duties, 24 for security and seven for media. But as of March, according to the ministry, all of those passes are null and void, and the process starts all over again. After multiple FOIA requests, the ministry revealed 27 of the approved applicants had previously held PBR passes, but did not identify them or say when they would have returned their old passes and how soon after they would have been issued new ones. Since April 28, 2025, the Transport Ministry has received 401 applications for PBR passes. Of those, 140 were approved under a system it described as electronic, introduced on July 31. Another 261 applications remain pending due to incomplete documentation. None were outright denied. Guardian Media sent questions to Minister Zakour and the ministry via WhatsApp and email seeking clarification on whether the process for issuing new Priority Bus Route passes has been revised or remains unchanged, what lessons were learnt from the recent exercise and whether there is a quota for the number of permits to be issued. Up to press time, no response was received. PBR passes statistics Passes mandated for recall 645 Passes returned by July 1 deadline 132 Total passes eventually returned 360 New passes issued (July 1 – Sept 15) 123 Total passes approved (by early 2026) 140 (private citizens) Passes issued to MPs 41 Passes issued to Senators 30 Applications received since April 28 -401 Applications approved 140 Applications pending 261 Applications denied 0 Recipients who previously held passes 27