By INDERIA SAUNDERS, Guardian Business Desk, Inderia@nasguard.com

Members of the public busing system are sounding off about a possible downturn in business from competition likely to accompany the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) from the European Union.

Appearing as a guest on Star 106.5 FM talk show "Jeffrey", the president of the Public Transportation Association Bahamas (PTAB), Reuben Rahming, said he has been trying to warn his fellow colleagues about those dangers for a long time.

"Mr. Rich-man (can) comes in here and say 'I have $50 million, let me take over the bus industry, I'm going to bring in 50 buses to The Bahamas'," he said. "Then (he can) bring in all his buses on the road (and) because the man is rich (he can) run those buses for 50 cents until they run all of us out of the market.

"There's no way we can run 50 cents for everybody, then when we are squeezed out of the market, (he can) dominate the market."

As Rahming explains it, that kind of competition will be well within the ambit of the law under the proposed EPA. He's sounding the horn now, hoping the government will look at extending his industry the same kind of protections it is pledging to work into the final agreement for the real estate and telecommunications sectors.

Rahming is, in fact, voicing his concerns on the heels of last week's comments from the Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, suggesting only those two industries would be exempt from the increased competition stemming from the EPA services schedule with the EU.

That portion of the agreement allows European service providers broader access to this market in exchange for their Bahamian counterparts winning the same in EU countries.

Rahming's apprehensions likely echo those of professions across several sectors, including accounting and law.

The new threat comes as Rahming's industry studies the feasibility of widesweeping amalgamation. Even as many of these bus companies gravitate toward forming that kind of alliance, Laing is offering up suggestions that would allow them to keep their competitive edge while at the same time keep from running afoul of competition requirement under the EPA designed to ensure European firms are not discriminated against.

"The best way to structure your company to defend against people coming in and taking over our market is (by) not forming, in a general sense, a corporation, but forming a cluster," said Rahming, referencing the minister's advice. "A cluster is where you take a group of independent persons who come together in their common interest.

Rahming himself understands the implications of adopting any kind of amalgamated bus authority platform that would genuinely create a monopoly: "The short of it is that we need to be careful what we do. Don't structure this into one company because we will be opening ourselves up into a target."

However, Laing pointed out that the EPA is no guarantee there will be additional investment in any sector of the economy and so increased competition. Instead, the agreement provides only a framework for persons seeking to understand the investment regime of this country, allowing them to readily decipher which sectors are open for investment and the mode by which those services can be provided to Bahamian consumers.