SOME frustrated passengers have opined that fifty-seater buses should be allowed to operate along the East Coast and East Bank Demerara, especially with the onset of the festive season. And concurring with this opinion, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has said it has observed the disgustingly long hours many workers and students have to wait each morning and evening to access public transportation to or from home.

Moreover, the union body said, this tiresome situation has worsened, and most passengers contend that public transport takes long hours to drop them off at their final destinations in making a round trip, because of heavy vehicular traffic on Guyana’s roads.

Commuters have stated that, after 16:30hrs, buses plying routes cut their routes short and work shorter distances.

Taking into consideration that commuters on the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) have to contend with traffic congestion, which includes several stops along the way and crawling traffic creeping across the bridge, government announced it was willing to give incentives to the private sector to lure them into operating bigger buses with a focus on the large housing areas.

This development was revealed at a press conference hosted by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon.

Speaking with a source from the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, this newspaper was told statistics show that insufficient buses ply Route 44, creating a situation wherein large volumes of passengers are stranded on a daily basis.