THE United Minibus Union representing the Route 44 minibus operators on Tuesday met with the Minister of Tourism to discuss the existing fares and the difficulties faced by commuters. 

In a press statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, the United Minibus Union representing the Route 44 (Georgetown to Mahaica) operations met with acting Minister of Tourism Irfaan Ali to discuss the exorbitant fares demanded from commuters after 15:00h and at peak periods in the morning.
The Tourism Ministry noted that it was agreed that the current situation is untenable and as a result all participating parties have agreed upon a structured fare system.
OFFICIAL FARES

“The parties wish to advice commuters and operators that these published fares are the official charges which must be adhered to,” the joint press release stated.
Anyone found acting contrary to this official publication with respect to fares for route 44 will be in violation of the agreement and the Tourism Minister has advised that such instances should be reported to the authorities who will be

monitoring compliance. All operators must place in their minibuses the published fare structure and commuters are advised not to pay any fare outside of this structure.
Speaking at a press conference held on September 18 at the Tourism Ministry’s boardroom on South Road, Tourism Minister (ag), Irfaan Ali, noted that it has been several months now that the Ministry has been monitoring the present situation of fare hikes and unfair treatment of commuters by minibus operators. “Over the past months we have been receiving many complaints from commuters in relation to the imposition of fares that were not sanctioned by the Ministry or any authority that has jurisdiction in terms of the setting of fares,” Ali said.
Minister Ali also reported that there were many meetings between the Ministry and the minibus operators and their representatives and there was an agreement that “once the gas prices at the GuyOil (Guyana Oil Company) stations, which the Government controls, is less than a $1000 then the increase in fares would not become necessary.”
Ali related that the Government took all the necessary measures to make sure that the gas prices are kept below $1000 and still some of the operators have tried to increase their fares.
The Ministry of Tourism emphasised that “if unauthorised fares are demanded, commuters are within their rights to refuse to pay and are urged to take note of the minibus number and report the matter to the relevant authority. Also if at any time commuters are refused entry into a minibus that demands a higher fare than published, commuters should again take that bus number and report it to the law enforcement representatives.”

(By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)