Minibus drivers urged to not exploit citizens

– Union President says better response from Govt needed to address issue

In light of several commuters taking to social media to complain about paying double the fare to travel on some minibuses in the afternoon, United Minibus Union (UMU) President Eon Andrews is urging minibus operators to desist from exploiting citizens.
Andrews made this call on Friday during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times. During the interview, Andrews highlighted that minibus fares have always been an issue, and in an effort to prevent citizens being charged extra, the Union in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry drafted a fair structure for minibus routes across the country.
“The Ministry of Tourism Consumer Affairs Department sat down and established a fare structure, that fare structure is supposed to be in the buses and there is no such thing as a morning fare or a night fare. These bus drivers are butchering customers,” the UMU President said.
In this regard, he called for the beefing up of enforcement measures by the Ministry, in an effort to ensure that citizens are not exploited.
“We know what’s going on. I’ve spoken about it at different forums, but nobody seems to be interested in protecting the consumers. We are working; we did what we have to do; but we cannot enforce, we could only advise and highlight. As the union, we don’t have power to enforce,” he said.
Addressing the issue of fluctuating maintenance prices, which is often cited by drivers as why a higher fare is demanded, Andrews revealed that owing to circumstances, it would not be a fair move to demand consumers to pay a higher fare.
“Revising the fare structure is something that the union does not advise at this time, because it has to do with the consumer’s ability to pay,” he said.
Meanwhile, also speaking with this publication was Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent Mahendra Singh ,who highlighted that the fare structure established by the Ministry should be displayed in the minibuses.
“There is a fare structure in place; the Ministry of Tourism controls the fare structure in conjunction with other persons and it is supposed to be displayed in the minibus, and exactly what the fare structure says, that’s what they have to pay.”
On that point the Traffic Chief highlighted that the Guyana Police Force was willing to address the situation; however, he urged persons to file a report rather than going on social media.
“We can take some action; the fares are set by the Ministry and other people, but it’s not something the Police can’t address, but how do we address it? We need a report,” he explained. We need one of the persons who is paying a higher fare to report it, because for the Police to take action – who is the persons filing the complaint?”
In September 2018, the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the UMU officially released the fares for minibuses across the country. The introduction of this document saw all minibus fares increasing by $20. The fare structure has not been revised.