We have been accustomed to long lines, indecisions, corruption and utter frustration when using this service. Guyana must move forward and I submit a suggestion below, but any system that relieves us of the aforementioned will be more than welcome.
This e-governance high speed internet service that the government is putting in place can do wonders for organizing and modernizing this ferry service. The boats are now pretty modern but the operations are of the 1950s.
Using existing software, tickets can
be bought in advance at any T&HD office without overselling a single vehicle space or passenger seat. The cool thing about interconnectivity is that before a ticket is sold, the seller will be made aware of the available space on the particular trip. A ticket holder can be asked to report his/her presence to the clerk in charge of loading not less than one hour before the boat sails and any no-shows can be then sold to standbys. Should you miss your boat, you will pay 20% of the face value of your ticket to get the next boat with space to accommodate you, and should you then miss that boat, you will lose your money. Black marketing of tickets can be discouraged by asking for national IDs and/or registration of vehicle at the time of ticket purchase.
I’ll now attempt to list some benefits of such a system:
1. More money in the T&HD account upfront- reduce cash flow issues.
2. More money in the T&HD account from the increase of tourist traffic; assumption here is that the current levels is negatively impacted by the current frustrating system.
3. Increase in local and foreign tourism-a Skeldon family can plan a vacation at Charity with definite dates and times. This will spread disposable wealth, increase economic activity and create investment opportunities.
4. The boat can be more easily and efficiently packed. A small computer programme can spit out the best configuration of booked vehicles.
5. Better accountability with reduced opportunity for corruption.
I hope this starts a discussion leading to continuous improvements.