BERBICIANS have collectively welcomed the Government’s move to reduce the Bebice Bridge toll, but some are saying that it should not be subsidised by the State.However, others feel that no one company should have a monopoly but instead it should be open or competition among other businesses.

President of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce [ UCCC]  Mr. Abraham Subnauth  told this newspaper that while he welcomes the move, he is hopeful that  the reduction will apply to commercial traffic as well.

“The cost of goods leaving and entering the region is very high, and needs to be reduced,” Subnauth said.
He noted that the Chamber had previously held several meetings with the Bridge Company, where several concerns were raised, including the toll reduction.

However, the businessman was not in agreement with the Government’s position to subsidise the company.
He suggested, instead, that the State creates an avenue for competition rather than allow the current company to have the monopoly.

“Open an avenue for competition. Once there is competition, the toll will eventually be reduced,” he suggested.

Another businessman, Ramroop Ragnauth, popularly known as ‘Danzies’, also welcomes the move, as it was one of his main concerns, having felt that the fee being asked was “too  exorbitant”.

He suggested that the toll  reflect that paid by commuters traversing the Demerara Harbour Bridge in Georgetown, who are privileged to do so at an extremely low cost.

“We all pay the same taxes; we are exposed to the same income. Why should our toll be higher,” asked Ragnauth.

Ragnauth  is the President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association, and supports the Government’s initiative to subsidise the company.

“I know it is a private partnership, but the government should have subsidised it a long time ago, as it is doing now,” he said.

Meanwhile, a hire car driver, who gave his name as Charles,  was in high spirits on hearing the announcement, since he feels that it will bring a reduction  in the burden faced by persons living on the West Coast of Berbice who have to traverse the bridge every day in an effort to get to school or work.

According to Charles, it costs a family in excess of a thousand dollars for a child or adult to cross to the other side of the Berbice River.
“The  fare to just cross the bridge  is $300; a return fare  is double that figure. A driver plying the bridge on a double trip will have to pay $4,400, which is equivalent to gasoline needed for the journey,” Charles said. “With a reduced toll, the passenger will be faced with a reduced fare.”

Another Berbician, Adrian Anamayah, said that the Berbice Bridge venture was due to a private investment, without which initiative, easy access to east Berbice would not have been possible.
He is of the opinion that the current toll should remain as is, when one considers the hours lost when having to wait for the ferry to cross.

He suggests, however, that a shuttle system be put in place to benefit teachers, students and other categories of workers who use the Berbice Bridge on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Minister of Governance Mr Raphael Trotman, while chairing the weekly Cabinet press briefing last Wednesday, said the reduction is in keeping with the new Administration’s first 100-day plan, and is intended to  ease the financial burden faced by everyday bridge users.

The reduction of the bridge’s toll will benefit mainly the people of  Regions 5  (Mahaica-West Berbice) and Region 6 (East Corentyne-Berbice).

By Jeune Bailey VanKeric