–and refuse to moor vessels until demands are met

PASSENGERS plying the Vreed-en-Hoop/Georgetown route via speedboats have expressed great anger and disgust at speedboat captains doubling their fares on weekends, and holding financially hard pressed commuters to ransom by refusing to dock until their demands are met.
Last Sunday, a boat captain and bowman came under vehement verbal attack from several passengers for not only doubling the fare but for reneging on a promise made to some passengers that the boat would depart the Georgetown Stelling when it was half filled.
The captain and bowman proceeded to fill the boat to capacity and still demanded $200 from each passenger (instead of the regulated $100), causing a real ruckus aboard the vessel.

Stabroek Market vendor, Sybill Thorne, exploding in anger, refused to pay the double-fare requested by the bowman. “Is wha really wrang tuh aluh dese at all?! Transport and Harbours set wan fare and alyuih dese doubling it? Alyuh crazy or wha?! I ain’t paying moh dan hundred dalla… Yuh could throw meh in de riva an all, still I ain’t paying no double- fare!” she maintained.

Pensioner Hubert Simon was equally vociferous, giving the bowman a severe tongue lashing that must have left him reeling from its intensity. “Young man, you in yuh right senses? De fare is one hundred dollars! Whea you think ah ole man like me farking out dis money from? Look, I ain’t paying no two hundred!! If yuh want fast money undah false pretenses, yuh should dress up and guh by de Cathedral! You gon get fast money once yuh wuk deh fuh it,” he declared with a long and vehement “Shupppppppsss!!!”

Housewife Parbattie Sulchand was more reserved, but did not hesitate to voice her disgust at this practice, which she said the boat captains seem to indulge in especially on Sundays.

“All through de week dem ah tek de real fare, but suddenly pon Sundays de fare gone up sky high!! Dem ah behave like people does manifactcha money!! Somebaddy need fuh look into dis mattah!!” she declared.

Despite the ruckus put up by the passengers, the boat captain stalled the boat a short distance from the stelling, and instructed the bowman to collect the fares from every passenger before docking the vessel at the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling.

Passengers left the boat fuming, and a few even hurled obscenities at the boat captain, who remained unmoved as he grinned from ear to ear at what he had raked in.

When the Transport and Harbours Department was contacted on the issue the following morning, officials, insisted that the speedboat fare from Georgetown to Vreed-en-Hoop had not been changed from $100 per adult, and should not be raised on week days or weekends.

They promised to fully investigate this matter.

(By Alex Wayne)