With layoffs scheduled to take effect Thursday for St. John's entire Vitran work force except for the one supervisor, a local transportation business is looking into a private-sector approach to preserve public transit on the island if all else fails.
Varlack Ventures, one of the two companies operating public ferry service between St. John and St. Thomas, already operates bus service on St. John — the public school buses. General manager Delrise Varlack said she had reservations about taking on a public transit system on land, given the company's experiences with the government in operating public ferry service. However, she acknowledged talking last week with attorney Derek Hodge about the possibility.
Company president Rodney Varlack reportedly told Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd that he would develop a contingency plan to preserve the island's three-year-old bus service.
Meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. reportedly told Liburd he would do all he could to keep the St. John buses running, in spite of the Turnbull administration mandate to cut Vitran operations in half.
The whole St. John crew stands to be laid off because the United Steelworkers Union, representing public transit workers, has a last-hired, first-fired contract provision on layoffs.
Permanent St. John Vitran service began only two years ago. So, union leaders said, St. John drivers, mechanics and maintenance workers, having been hired last, would be subject to layoff first.
St. Thomas employees with greater seniority would be offered the St. John jobs, they said — but only if they agreed to move to the smaller island.
St. Thomas Vitran workers have reacted negatively to both the idea of relocating and the thought of displacing their fellow workers on St. John.
Told of the Varlack initiative, Steelworkers president Luis "Tito" Morales said private transit workers would have to undergo training to operate Vitran buses. He also said the buses would likely remain the property of the V.I. government.
However, Delrise Varlack said her school bus drivers already have received specialized training approved by the federal government.
During a meeting on Tuesday, May 2, of the St. John Transportation Advisory Committee, Morales said Vitran, currently run by Public Works, had fared much better under the private management of the Manassah Bus Co. in years past. He said government failure to secure available federal transportation funds and fulfill other obligations to Manassah ultimately scuttled the operation.
To save the system, Morales has said, management of Vitran should be taken away from Public Works. Rather than have the transit system turned over again to a private company, however, he would like to see the creation of a V.I. Transit Authority which would be solely responsible for bus operations.
