The administration on St. John is running its 14-passenger utility van when no Vitran buses are available, according to Donna Roberts, Vitran's St. John manager.
"The van, owned by the V.I. Energy Department, is in operation courtesy of the Administrator's Office when Vitran buses are out of service or unavailable," Roberts said.
The utility van also has a scheduled run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 and 8 a.m., and on Tuesday and Thursday at 5 and 7 a.m.
"The van is safe and it's legal," Roberts said.
"The Energy Office provides the van and Vitran provides the driver," according to one Vitran driver who requested anonymity.
"When the van is running, it's free," according to Roberts, "and it was instituted because of the demand by Coral Bay riders."
Vitran buses on St. John have a history of interrupted or no service. The problem has worsened since most St. John drivers were laid off months ago when Vitran cut back service by half.
It is not unusual to wait 90 minutes for a bus on St. John. The route runs from the Cruz Bay dock along Centerline Road. Once the bus reaches Coral Bay it heads south along Kings Hill Road to Salt Pond as its final destination. The entire route takes 45 minutes.
According to one Vitran driver, only one bus is operational and it regularly breaks down, forcing the van into service.
