– accuse each other of disorderly behaviour, victimisation
Some minibus operators plying Route 50 are claiming that they are being victimized by the members of the West Berbice Minibus Association (WBMA) because they do not want to be a part of it.
The operators told this newspaper on Thursday that they prefer to work independently and “cut the road” to pick up passengers instead of waiting in the line at a park that the association has established.
However, they claimed that when they do that, especially within the Rosignol/D’Edward area they are being “victimized by the association and harassed by the police.”
Meanwhile, a few of the operators who are members of the association said they are pleased with the arrangement by the association to load in the turn system.
They said, “it is more orderly; no pulling and tugging. This is better than spinning and looking for passengers because when you done spin all yuh gas done.”
A minibus conductor, Chris Peterkin who is not a member of the WBMA, told Stabroek News that two persons who work as “dispatchers” for the association would call the police who would pull in his bus at the station for a few days.
He is alleging that “the association modernized the word tout to dispatcher because they [dispatchers] would be soliciting passengers for the buses in the line and each bus has to pay $300 at both sides of the bridge per trip as well as $100 for the association.”
According to the minibus drivers it is not fair for them to be harassed like that because they pay $12,600 for road service for their vehicles per year, claiming that they would end up paying $9,100 per week to the association which would amount to $36,000 yearly.
“We are not obligated to pay that money because and we should be free to work as we like without the police coming and lock up our buses for days. We have freedom in Guyana.”
Further they said, “They can’t force us to join the association so why force us to pay; if we don’t pay we cannot stay in the park and we cannot pick up passengers on the road.”
One of the dispatchers, Sheldon Farley explained to this newspaper that an arrangement is in place for buses that ply the coast to take passengers going to New Amsterdam, to the park. The passengers would then join the first bus in the line.
He pointed out that some of the money collected was recently spent to purchase coffee, milk and crackers for a wake when the father of one of the members passed away.
He said if all the drivers co-operate the buses in the line would load faster “but some buses want to spin and make five trips and even take passengers out of the buses in the line.”
He said 75 persons have registered with the association and they volunteer to pay the money. He said all that the association is trying to do is to get a disciplined and organized system in place.
According to him when the buses bring passengers from New Amsterdam they would be placed in other buses to go to their destinations.
The other operators are upset and said that because of not getting enough work the bus owners cannot afford to pay them. “If we join the association we would have to wait a long time in the line and still pay a lot of money. We have families to take care of and we have to
hustle.”
Drivers Keswin Benjamin and Eon Kwok said their buses had been pulled in on Wednesday because “we stopped to pick up passengers along the route.” This newspaper was at the Blairmont Police Station on Thursday morning when the buses were released to the men after they signed a recognizance.
Another driver said his bus was locked up for “four days straight and I want to know who would compensate me for all the work I lost.”
The drivers pointed out, “Imagine we paying $2,200 to cross the bridge [Berbice] per trip and the association want us to pay an additional $700. Can that be fair?”
They said too that not all of the passengers would go to the park for the bus and would rather wait in front of their homes. However, they said if they pick them up they would be locked up. “It seems as though even the passengers are obligated to go to the park. We would not charge the nurses, teachers and schoolchildren the full fare and they prefer to travel with our buses but that is a problem for the association.”
Peterkin told this newspaper that although “I put my shoulder to the wheel” and bought a nine-seater bus he cannot afford to work it because I have to pay $2,200 to cross the bridge. It cannot compensate me and I glad if somebody can buy it.”
The man said he has five children to take care of and has to resort to work as a conductor on another bus. He said he worked as a tout for several years but has stopped doing that now. Yet, he claimed that he is being harassed for it.
A 60-year-old woman told this newspaper that she went to the high court in New Amsterdam with her 78-year-old brother and because he cannot walk properly she told him to wait in front of the court and she would return with a bus for him.
She said before she could return another bus stopped and the operators forced him to get on it. Although she begged the driver of the other bus to let him join her, he refused.
Farley, who was in the bus at the time, said they did not use an “AK-47 and forced the man to come in”. He said the man had reached his destination safely, shortly after joining the bus.
Another passenger said she joined a bus at Cotton Tree and the driver put her in another bus at D’ Edward to take her to New Amsterdam. The police then discharged the passengers and took the bus to the station. She said she had to walk a long distance to the bus park and she was already late.