I am kindly requesting that you publish my letter so that the travelling commuters can be aware of what can be done if they experience a similar occurrence to the one, I endured recently.

At 16:15 hrs on Saturday October 08, 2011, I joined minibus # BLL 113 at Busshed Street, Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, en route to Georgetown. In the vicinity of the burial ground at Stewartville, the bus stopped to pick up a passenger.

I was asked to step outside for the lady to go in, even though the bus had its full complement of passengers. The woman stated she was “not going further in the bus”, and seated herself in the seat that I was occupying. The conductor then asked me to double up by sitting next to her. I refused, and he slammed the door and drove off.

It is because I was aware that the bus had its quota of passengers when the lady stepped in that I was opposed to re-entering the bus, which would have overloaded the vehicle.
On Sunday, October 16, 2011, at 16:15hrs, I boarded minibus # BNN 7462 at Stewartville, West Coast Demerara en route to Georgetown. The conductor continuously overloaded the minibus with as much as eighteen (18) passengers.

When I spoke to him on this, his response to me was that, on the West Side, all minibuses HAVE to carry overload or else they won’t make a dollar. 

I am suggesting that police roadblocks be set up between 16:30 hrs and 18:30hrs on Saturdays and Sundays by the Den Amstel turn and by the Crane turn. 

In the evenings at Stabroek, commuters are informed that two hundred dollars ($200.) is the fare per person to go anywhere on the West Coast up to Tuschen. But that is not all, as soon as the minibuses pass the Vreed-en-Hoop Junction; the conductor starts to overload the minibus.  
I would be happy for the relevant authorities (Police/Ministry of Home Affairs) to respond, so that commuters can be aware of what to do in these circumstances.