Commuters ‘not benefiting’ from bus fare reductions

Nov 20, 2008 News

Although the Guyana Public Transportation Association (GPTA) and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad are claiming that the minibus fares have been reduced, minibus operators are still charging the same fares as before.
Kaieteur News spoke with a number of commuters yesterday, who all noted that minibus conductors are demanding that they pay the full fare, as they are not aware of any reduction.
Most commuters are of the view that the bus operators are unfair and are ripping off passengers, since they are enjoying a reduction in the price for gasoline but still refuse to create an ease for commuters.
Some passengers told this newspaper that when they pay the reduced fare, the conductors would embarrass them and demand that they pay the rest of the fare.
In this regard, commuters noted, they have no other choice but to pay the full fare, since they cannot deal with being embarrassed for $20 or $40.
Commuters noted that they are frustrated with the situation, since it appears as if the Government or the GPTA is not paying any attention to what the minibus operators are doing.
Meanwhile, when questioned about this at his press conference on Tuesday, Minister Prashad said that it would take some time for some minibuses to fall in line. He, nevertheless, was optimistic that the situation would be normalised by the end of the week.