–leaving many commuters stranded

SCORES of commuters in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) were left stranded Monday morning at the Anna Regina Car Park as minibus and hire car drivers parked their vehicles in protest of the recent hike in fuel prices.

This caused a huge build-up of vehicular traffic at Anna Regina, with bus operators maintaining that if the government does not intervene in the matter, then the consumers would have to face the consequences.

At the moment, drivers pay $1,054 for a gallon of gasoline at all Guyoil stations, which is an increase of $50 compared to the previous prices.
Kerosene is being retailed at $668, an increase of $31, while Diesel is being retailed at $1,004, an increase of $50.

According to the operators, the increases have put an extra pressure on them, and commuters are reluctant to pay an increased fare.
“The government needs to waive the taxes on the gas so the prices can come down,” said minibus operator, Inshan Ali, better known as ‘Tiger’.

“Right now,” he said, “passengers are not paying the increase, and as such we are running at a loss.”

The operators are calling for gasoline prices to be lowered to an affordable rate of $800 per gallon, so that they could continue their trade.
“From Regina to Charity, they don’t want pay $200; and when you ask them for extra money, they are telling us that they didn’t receive an increase in salary,” Joan Peters related.

The placards the striking operators carried read: “Gas price too high”, “Gas must go down”, “Gas need to drop or fare must raise”, “Raise of fare”, “One overload $5000 very hard”, and “Pressure on bus and hire car men”.
President of the Region Two Hire Car and Minibus Association, Mohammed Nazmul said that operators were faced with several issues, among them the increase in price for spare parts as well as fuel.

He said that those factors are what fuelled the strike, and a call for government intervention. He said many of the operators took mortgages, and as such have a monthly target to reach to pay back the banks.

Nazemul said that the operators plan meeting with the head of the Regional Democratic Council, Devanand Ramdatt to voice their concerns.

Deputy Mayor of Anna Regina, Darshan Persaud, who came out in solidarity with the operators, said he, too, is calling on the government to review the fuel prices, as it’s unfair to ask operators to pay that much especially when they have loans to repay.