The Route 6 Minibus service in St. David?s will end Friday because they said the Ministry of Transport does not subsidise minibus services.

However, can confirm that the Ministry has been subsidising the Rockaway minibus service for just less than $20,000 per month.

Route 6 owner and driver, Grace-Ann Fox and another source who only wanted to be known as ?Mr. Curtis? said that during a meeting with the Ministry this summer, Permanent Secretary of Transport, Marc Telemaque told them the ministry does not ?subsidise minibus services because they did not want to get into small service transportation?.

But when Mr. Telemaque was contacted yesterday he denied saying any such thing. However, he did confirm that the Rockaway minibus service was subsidised by the Transport Ministry: ?(The minibus) is part and parcel of the Rockaway ferry service... There is no question of preferential treatment? he said.

Mr. Telemaque would not confirm how long the subsidy has been in place, although he did say, payment of the service was in the part of the budget relating to ferries, not minibuses.

At just less than $20,000 per month that adds up to less than a quarter of a million dollars per year or $444 on each of the nine runs each day. The ferry stop has been open since 2002.

The free minibus service connects with four morning ferries from Rockaway (7.25 a.m., 7.55 a.m., 8.25 a.m. and 8.55 a.m.) and five in the evening ? starting with the 5 p.m. ferry from Hamilton, then every thirty minutes until 7 p.m.

The minibuses do not operate on Saturdays nor on Sundays. However, Route 6 mini bus owner/operator Grace-Ann Fox has requested that the Transport Ministry subsidise the St. David?s service for $4902.50 per month.

The Route 6 Minibus service in St. David?s runs two buses 365 days a year with two drivers and has asked Government for a subsidy to hire a third driver so that they ?could get a little time off?, Mrs. Fox said.

On September 7, Mrs. Fox wrote a letter to The Transport Minister, Dr. Ewart Brown, informing him of Route 6?s imminent closure: ?Although serving the St. David?s community has been a rewarding experience the lack of Government support has left me with no other alternative,? Mrs. Fox wrote.

However, in Mr. Telemaque?s response dated September 15, he wrote: ?Having shared (the letter?s) contents with the Minister, I am somewhat disappointed at your allegation of a ?lack of Government support?.

?You will recall our lengthy discussions on the limitations placed on the ability of PTB to fully subsidise Route 6 minibus. You will also recall the dedicated fuel subsidy provided by PTB in the sum of $120 per week?.

Mrs. Fox began the ?Route 6 mini bus? in St. David?s two-and-a-half years ago.

?I started the business because a saw a little old lady walking in St. David?s on a Sunday night. It was raining. It was around 8.20 p.m. near Southside.

?She said she had called for the St. George?s Minibus who told her they were not in operation. They told her she had to find another way home. I picked her up and took her home and from that day forth I went into motion,? Mrs. Fox said.

Every day of the week she begins her driving day at 7.15 p.m. and continues until 12.15 a.m., except on Sundays, when she stops at 11.15 p.m.

This fills the gap in the public bus service that stops running into St. David?s at 7.04 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 6.40 p.m. on weekends.

Eighty to 100 passengers get on the Route 6 buses every week, with the majority being workers commuting home Mrs. Fox said.

St. David?s MP Suzanne Holshouser said she ?found it very disappointing that we are not given the same courtesy of Public Transportation as St. George?s.

?This does indicate to me that we are different. The Ministry of Transport says it does not subsidise. I beg to differ. The Rockaway minibus service is subsidised to just under $20,000 a month.

?Does that mean that the only way that the Route 6 minibus service can receive subsidies from the Ministry of Transport is if we get a ferry? Even then, would it only be for a couple of hours in the morning or in the afternoon like Rockaway? No more than four hours a day?

?This is not about transportation as a luxury. It is about the necessity of having transport to go to work for some and to go whenever they need to go for others. St. David?s residents deserve to have guaranteed transport at all times.

?PTB did put on a trial run this summer, but it was running in parallel to Route 6. PTB deemed it unsuccessful and cancelled it,? she said.

?What we are looking for is the Ministry of Transport to acknowledge the need for the continuation of Route 6. All they are looking for is a subsidy of under $5,000 a month. This will ensure that after a hard day at work, you will be safely delivered at your front door,? she said.

?I feel sorry for the people. I love the people. I am going to grieve for them like family,? Mrs. Fox said.