BERBICIANS, especially school children and pensioners on Monday cashed in on the free river transportation across the Berbice River as the government-approved river taxi service began operation, aimed at forcing a stubborn Berbice Bridge Company Inc. to reduce its tolls. The taxi service being run by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure is aimed at cushioning the effects of exorbitant toll at the Berbice River Bridge. Yesterday the Guyana Chronicle travelled to the

Rosignal and New Amsterdam Stellings to observe the process which is saving the travelling public some amount of money as against paying to cross the bridge. The fleet of boats comprising two all-weather boats, each one reminiscent of the former Blairmont to New Amsterdam launch, did brisk business on day one departing as soon as filled with an average time of ten minutes for the crossing. APNU/AFC Member of Parliament Jennifer Wade was on hand to witness the first crossing. Ms. Wade offered a prayer for the safe operations of the water taxis which was followed by loud amens from all onboard, young and old. She then helped a group of excited school children to buckle up their life jackets. Given the one-way flow of commuters east to New Amsterdam in the mornings and west to Rosignol in the evenings, the boats did not wait to be filled at the slack end but turned around immediately to pick up the bulk of the passengers waiting. “It’s pretty prompt, ” a 15-year-old said noting that the average time for the crossing was ten minutes compared to thirty five minutes by the MB Bonasika which did runs early in the morning to transport them, or even fifteen minutes by buses over the bridge.
A male nurse who said that he would normally spend a minimum of $900 per day travelling from West Berbice to New Amsterdam and back said he was relishing the savings of close to $500 per day that he would gain as a result of the availability of an alternative means of crossing the Berbice River. “This works for me! This works for me,” he said.
The taxis were introduced by the APNU+AFC Government after the Directors of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) the alternative river crossing baulked at the idea of reducing the price of the crossing even though they were offered commensurate compensation for this The government had campaigned for a 2015 General Elections win with a promise to make the heavy price for the crossing, sanctioned by the previous government, less burdensome.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said last week that the APNU+AFC government introduced the water taxis on the Berbice River to reinforce the message to the BBCI that the government will not give up until the toll for crossing the Berbice River Bridge is reduced. “The present fare is unconscionable and un-payable and they must be reduced,” the Prime Minister had said during an interview with an online news service. Prime Minster Nagamootoo had announced that school children and pensioners will travel free for one month. Wade said yesterday that the service being provided by the two water taxis will be closely observed during the next few days with a view to deciding on whether to add more boats to the fleet.
Teething problems
Meanwhile, in the afternoon it was observed that the taxis were being utilised without hesitation especially by pensioners, teachers and students, but this newspaper was informed however that initially there were some teething problems mainly related to scheduling departure time for the taxis from both ends of the river and that was causing some concerns especially for teachers.
Speaking with this newspaper, one teacher who asked that her photograph not be taken explained that they get off of teaching at a certain time but was forced to wait for a considerable long time inside the boat before it moved off. She explained that the lengthy wait does have the potential to cause them to miss classes or arrive late at other engagements.
Another teacher who was also among the first traveller yesterday afternoon after school was dismissed praised the initiative as she also spoke of the advantage the river taxis will have on the residents of Berbice, pointing to the use of the river taxis to get over and back to Rosignal or New Amsterdam especially when the bridge is retracted to accommodate transiting vessels. On Monday it was also noted there seems to be some amount of mix up as it relates to what category of pensioners will be allowed to travel free on the river taxis. Yesterday one woman who was using the taxi for the first time was overheard complaining about having to purchase a stub to travel on the boat when she was sure that the arrangement was that pensioners would be allowed to travel free.

It turned out that the pensioner who will be allowed to travel free are those who are receiving Old Age Pension and not pension from the National Insurance Scheme as was the case with the disgruntled pensioner yesterday at the New Amsterdam Stelling. The National Insurance Scheme is one of the key investors in the Berbice River Bridge.
The use of the river taxis did not get the overwhelming support on the first day as anticipated even though the school children did not hesitate to take advantage of it. Yesterday it was observed that many of them still boarded buses and taxis from both sides of the river and made their way across the bridge.
There were also those who would have been travelling to school on chartered buses and cars and in some cases monies were already paid in advance for those travels, according to one worker at the New Amsterdam Stelling. It is anticipated however that by the new month the service will be fully utilised.
The Government decided to introduce the initiative as a means of substitute for its campaign promise of lowering the Berbice Bridge toll. That promise however became harder for the government to fulfill when it came to power and found that the administration of the bridge was not willing to just go ahead and reduce the tolls at the bridge as it put forward the argument that there were several investors who invested in the bridge and those persons had to be consulted and a decision arrived at. There have been calls for the Bridge to be transferred to the state so that the government will be responsible for its administration that however will only be possible once the investors have been paid off their dues; something some sections of society has been calling for.

By Leroy Smith