The Trelawny Municipal Municipality (TMC) is currently faced with the challenge of rebuilding the Falmouth Transportation Centre bus garage that was destroyed by the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl.
The only bus depot was damaged while city authorities were trying to cover 11 loading docks.
At the monthly general meeting on Thursday, Falmouth Mayor and TMC chairman C. Junior Gager said the city government was facing a $30 million bill to repair damaged buildings and needed to find funding to rebuild the bus depot.
“If we cover it properly it will solve a lot of problems so it’s a priority. When it rains passengers will get wet and we don’t want that. It has to be repaired,” he said.
Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who toured the facility at Mr Gager’s invitation last year, said it was unacceptable that there were no shelters at 11 taxi and bus stops on 22 routes and that the facility had limited seating capacity.
He recommended that private entities fund improvements to municipal transport hubs across the country and in return advertise at these facilities.
Gager is also seeking private organizations to help pay for a roof on the transportation center in exchange for advertising space.
He noted that besides the transportation centre, some clinics, almshouses and markets were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
