Several bus operators say that they are not prepared to reduce their fares in spite of the recent announcement made by Minister of Commerce Manniram Prashad that fares will drop from today.
On Tuesday, the Minister said that the General Mini Bus Association (GMBA) had agreed to reduce their fares following the decrease in gas prices locally. Gas is now being sold at less than $1000 per gallon at most service stations locally.
Yesterday, this newspaper spoke to representatives from the Guyana Public Transportation Association (GPTA) who said that they were not prepared to drop their prices as yet. According to Hiram Grant, the Assistant President and Acting Public Relations Officer of the Association, his organization was not properly consulted before the decision was made and consequently would not comply. He said that a representative, Compton Giddings, had met with the officials previously but he has since gone on leave.
However, Philbert Archer, the Advisor to the President of the GMBA said that he was nonplussed at the current situation since the GPTA representative Giddings had attended the meeting with the Minister of Commerce and had agreed to the reduction in fares. Archer also said that the reduction in prices is just a fulfillment of an agreement that the various associations had previously made, which was to lower fares if gas prices were lowered to less than $1000 per gallon.
Meanwhile Grant said that the GPTA is willing to reduce their fares but only after certain government agencies drop their prices. He said that GPL and GWI needed to reduce their rates. “Everything is going up so why should the bus fares alone drop when this was their livelihood”, he added.
Other representatives of the Association highlighted that the reduction of gas prices solved only part of their problem and said that other essential items such as spare parts had not been reduced.
Archer, however, said that while the concern about the cost of spare parts is legitimate, his association is planning to meet with the relevant authorities to see if these prices can be exempted from VAT. He also stated that it is not every day bus owners needed to acquire spare parts and opined that some of the owners may be exaggerating their plight.
Meanwhile, Eon Andrews, the President of the United Minibus Union for Route 45 minibuses, said that his Union was also not consulted about the increase in fares despite it being the only legal minibus organization in this country. The Union was registered on 10th March, 2008.
He said that if an official decree had been passed by the Ministry they would have to oblige but said that the Union was not happy. He said that it was ironic that while fuel prices have been reduced across the board, the government is not talking about reducing GPL rates of which they have direct oversight.
When asked if the buses were considering industrial action, Andrews said no, and stated that the buses will be approaching today with an open mind.
Steve Clarke who works the Linden bus route said that the drivers of the route had decided to lower their reduce fares by $100 from Monday. He said this was as a result of the reduction in gasoline prices. According to Clarke, the bus drivers have made their decision and are not going to reduce their fares any further since there has not been a decrease in the price for acquiring other essential commodities such as spare parts. The reduction in fare means that passengers travelling this route are now being charged $800, which is $100 more than what it was prior to the increase in July.
