The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has expressed surprise at the fare hikes imposed by the mini bus associations saying that the increases were not sanctioned by the government.
The Ministry last night said it is “studying several proposals coming out of meetings between Minister Manniram Prashad and members of the (Guyana Mini Bus) Association.”
The long threatened hike in minibus fares has been met with varying reactions from the travelling public.
When Stabroek News visited the bus parks yesterday afternoon at the peak hour, some persons said that they paid the old price to travel to work, since apparently their route operators were not aware of the fare hike while one woman related that the conductor threatened to put her out of the bus if she did not pay the required amount.
While some people agreed that the rise in fares is fair, others – especially those from the outlying areas such as Mahaica and Timehri – say that the addition of $60 to their fare is way too much.
One woman at the East Coast Park who lives at Atlantic Gardens said that she does not mind paying an extra $20 but she “feels it” for the average man who works for a small salary and has to pay even higher increases in their bus fares.
A Golden Grove man related that “everything going haywire so I just with the flow. “ I don’t know how people in this country gon cope,” he said.
The Guyana Public Transportation Association (GPTA) and the General Mini-bus Association (GMBA) announced at a press conference on Monday that they collaborated to initiate a hike in bus fares since minibus operators could no longer put off raising bus fares since every item involved in the servicing and every-day running of a mini bus had risen by 300% from May 2005-when the last raise in fare was implemented.
The Ministry said that while the hikes were not blessed by the government “there might have been some inclination to examine an adjustment to mini bus fares”.
The Ministry added that that the government over time has made interventions to reduce the impact of rising fuel prices by zero-rating the excise tax on diesel from 25% and lowering the excise tax on gas from 50% to 7%.