Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:55 AM
Feb 05, 2009 News
Certain Route 32 (Georgetown/Parika) minibuses have taken to gathering at the eastern end of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) to await passengers travelling to West Coast Demerara, rather than travelling to the Stabroek Market in Georgetown and loading their vehicles there.
According to a source within the DHB, the presence of the minibuses creates a problem when there are retractions scheduled, since they (minibuses) encroach on the area which is supposed to be occupied by the vehicles waiting to cross the bridge.
The presence of the minibuses does not usually create a problem when there are no retractions scheduled, said the source, “but they are not supposed to be there.
They are supposed to load at their designated park in the Stabroek Market area.”
Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn was informed of the presence of the minibuses earlier this year.
The Minister, in an invited comment, said that these minibuses represent a developing problem, and that the Ministry of Public Works was seeking to develop the best possible solution.
The Minister said that there was the possibility that the number of persons who travelled from East Bank Demerara to West Coast Demerara could be growing, and getting a minibus from the DHB might be the easiest thing for them.
He stressed that his Ministry was looking at the situation.
In addition to this illegal park, Route 32 minibuses have also been forsaking their normal minibus park at the Stabroek Market and opting to use the parking area just next to Demico House to load passengers.
This has caused much annoyance to the persons who want to park in this area.
The area is a parking area meant for patrons of the Demico House restaurant and of the Stabroek Market.
With Route 32 minibuses occupying this area, these patrons find themselves void of a place to park.
These patrons have said that they often have to find a parking area, some distance away.
These minibuses in this illegal park have been likened to the Route 43 (Georgetown/Timehri) numerous operators who are not following the rules and joining the line and waiting their turn to load, but are ‘running the hot plate’ and circling the park and loading in front of operators who are waiting, sometimes for hours, in the line.
Reports have said that if the police stopped these minibuses, a bribe of approximately $1000 is paid over.
“Certain buses don’t get stopped,” explained one of the operators. “Those buses just come around, load and move off before us, even though we are waiting in the line.”
The operators said that it was no secret that these ‘hot plate’ minibuses loaded without joining the line. “Everybody sees them,” one of the operators said.
The operators who stay in the line said that they do not ‘run the hot plate’ because they simply cannot afford to pay the police these bribes.
This illegal manner of loading minibuses in the Stabroek Market has been going on for the longest while.
On the opposite end of the DHB, the Public Works Ministry had demolished two buildings which the Minister said were on government reserves, and were in the area of operations of the DHB.
“They cannot be there,” said Benn.
Since the demolition of the buildings some months ago, one of the structures has since been re-erected, but Benn said that it would be removed again.
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