-following meeting between President, groups

The public transport associations yesterday agreed not to increase fares after reaching an agreement with President Bharrat Jagdeo for a two-week reprieve when they will meet again to address maintenance costs.

According to the Government Information Agency (GINA) minibus operators had complained that the continuous increase in fuel prices coupled with the price for spare parts and the high cost of living was affecting them. They said it was no longer feasible for them to operate the various routes using the current fare structure. Some operators had initiated arbitrary increases in fares and had staged several strikes in recent weeks.

Yesterday’s meeting included the Road Users Association in Berbice, the Skeldon Tapir Association, the Timehri Mini Bus Association, the Mahaica Mini-Bus Association, the East Berbice/Corentyne Mini-Bus Association, the General Mini-Bus Association (GMBA) and the Guyana Public Transportation Association (GPTA).  The associations had met previously with Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad and had agreed not to increase fares unless the price for gasoline reached $1,000 per gallon or more.  Nevertheless, this agreement did not hold up when as recent as Wednesday some operators staged strikes while others plying routes such as Linden increased fares. …..