Dear Source:
As a regular visitor to the Virgin Islands, my reaction to Scott Frank's article on Vitran cuts was: are they crazy?
Mr. Frank is absolutely correct, but he does not go far enough. As a visitor customer of Vitran, I have been struck by the following: It is a great way to get around.
The drivers are excellent, both from a road knowledge and a customer service standpoint. They are clearly a part of the community that they serve.
I rarely see a tourist on these buses, except on St. John, where the word is out, even though service is skimpy. Above all, the combination of need, so well documented by Mr. Frank, and the serious traffic problems, particularly on St. Thomas, cry out for an attractive public transit system that would be used by all groups.
A goal should be to get people out of their cars, in addition to providing high-quality service for those who don't own cars.
Vitran should be expanded, rather than contracted, marketed to tourists and the driving public, and made even more customer oriented by washing the buses more often, giving riders free newspapers or "frequent rider" miles.
This is a system with great potential. Shrinking it is not a smart thing to do.
Frank Schneiger
New York, NY