Minibus union expects Govt’s response to proposal by month-end

After submitting a proposal to Business Minister Dominic Gaskin several weeks ago, the President of the United Minibus Union, Eon Andrews on Saturday told Guyana Times that he was expecting a response from the Government as early as the end of this month, so as to quench the rage in the public transportation sector.
He said that he would have met with the Business Minister back in June and was confident that he would address the situation within that time frame; however if he did not, then the Union may very well resort to actions which it has reserved since the call for a fare increase.

Andrews added that he understands that the Minister of Business has to meet with several other Ministers of the Government before the issues at hand can be resolved and so he is prepared to wait until the end of the month.
A proposal for not only a fare increase but several other interventions was presented to Minister Gaskin back in June, by the Union’s Head with the hope of having them addressed.
The fare increase came at a time when the prices for fuel had fluctuated and increased significantly. The head of the UMU had, however, informed that the fare increase suggested by him was not solely because of the fuel price increase, but a number of other issues including the hike in maintenance costs for minibuses due to the ban of used tyres as well as the increase in cost for driver’s licences and other documents.
As a result of this, the Head of the Union had made it clear that the proposed fare increase of as much as $40 will not change even if the cost for fuel decreases.

According to him, it is not the UMU’s vision to exploit commuters, but rather to set fares which are ‘fair to everyone’. It was on that note that Andrews said he was aware of cases where passengers are being made to pay increases in transportation fares as high as $60 when all that the UMU has requested is a $20 increase for short drop drivers and a $40 increase for drivers who travel longer distances.
“We are concerned because if they (minibus drivers) take actions, it means that especially the travelling public, although it is a free-man transportation, they will punish. There may be persons who may react to those increases and you know there might be some violence and police story and these kinds of things, so I don’t think that’s the way anybody wants us to go so I think that the government ought to do something quickly,” the UMU’s President posited.
The Minister of Business recently told reporters that he was not responsible for fixing minibus fares and just intervened from a consumer point of view to find out their concerns.
He went on to say that the proposal which was submitted to his Ministry will be shared with the respective Ministers who will then carry the burden of introducing the said proposal to Cabinet.