Dear Editor,
Cricket World Cup is upon us so I take this opportunity to forewarn about the impending transportation difficulty that will inevitably be experienced by West Demerara commuters.
First let me deal with the Vreed-en-Hoop/George-town river taxis: Editor, I am told the Harbour Master is a person of integrity, an upholder of the law, therefore I am assuming the Harbour Master for one reason or another has failed to observe, or has not been informed of some of the inconveniences currently being suffered by commuters.
Some time ago river taxis were ordered to be built and or be converted to a certain specification. That no longer seems to be in force – but I am no expert.
Added to that, each seat had to have clearly marked the amount of passengers to be seated on said seat. That too, along with the stipulated amount of passengers, no longer seems to be the case. Some river taxis seemingly fly in the face of those safety orders thus having water fly in the face of commuters.
I mention the ridiculous lack of specification-adherence to complain about a more regular – literally everyday – inconvenience. River taxis use leatherette for frontal protection in every seat to prevent commuters getting wet by river spray during the crossing – and sometimes from rain.
Now, the awful problem is that in some river taxis there is not enough leatherette for every seat and – this is worse – some taxis now have short leatherette that does not reach across the length of the seat. Often two passengers are left to face the sprays without protection.
I watch women become discomfited by the sprays because of their make-up, hair and general fastidiousness. I have also watched schoolchildren get wet.
About the forewarning: Everyday at rush hour (funny how traffic moves the slowest during this time) there is chaos at the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) to get to and from Georgetown – in that order.
During Cricket World Cup it is estimated to become 15 times more chaotic. The delay and frustration is unimaginable now. In a subsequent letter, I will deal with the awful daily grid-lock situation at the DHB that, for all intents and purposes, is mostly undersupervised and largely ignored by the Guyana Police Force.
Because of what must happen at the DHB during Cricket World Cup it would be prudent if the relevant authorities – Transport Ministry, Transport & Harbours Department, and Guyana Police Force – could put in place more stringent controls, but more importantly, prepare the stelling and taxis for later travel.
At present river taxis plying the Georgetown/ Vreed-en-Hoop crossing cease operations at sunset or about 18:00h.
I am predicting that definitely during the Guyana leg of the Cricket World Cup there will be need for river taxis to operate beyond the 18:00h deadline.
Editor, here is what needs to be done: At a minimal recoverable cost temporary adequate lighting must be put in place at the two stellings to accommodate later than 18:00h crossing. Obviously, too, the taxis must carry an easily-seen bright pilot light that will also enable commuters to disembark.
Another aspect is adequate security/protection around the Georgetown stelling. The Guyana Police Force is well aware of how insecure it gets there during certain times.
I am sure others will have better suggestions but let it not be said the forewarning was not given and do not – do not – commuters, accept the excuse of inadequate time to implement these measures.
After publication of this letter I will check on what measures the Harbour Master will be taking to address and rectify the everyday inconvenience. Hopefully your wide readership will be kept posted.
Yours faithfully,
Oswald Ragnauth
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to the Harbour Master and the Traffic Chief for their attention.
