—not clear if everyone will comply
Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad announced yesterday that all minibus fares would be reduced immediately but there remains uncertainty over whether all operators will fully comply.

At a press conference held in the boardroom of the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Commerce, Prashad announced that this decision had been made following a meeting yesterday with representatives from various minibus associations. These representatives were present at the press conference, and came from the General Mini Bus Association (GMBA) and the Guyana Public Transportation Association (GPTA), as well as from the Numbers 32 and 44 bus routes.

The Minister said that most fares would return to what they had been prior to the last increase in July. He explained that there were a few routes where prices would not revert to what they had been previously, but nevertheless there would be a reduction. He said these included areas such Guyhoc, Mahaica and Parika, and the fares for these routes would be announced shortly.

According to the Minister, his ministry would be further negotiating with the minibus associations to address some of their concerns, including the coast of spare parts locally.
Philbert Archer, the Advisor to the President of the GMBA, said that the decrease in fares was the fulfilment of a promise to reduce bus fares if the price of fuel dropped to below $1000 per gallon. At most service stations locally, gasoline is now being sold at less than $800 per gallon. However, Archer said that under this new agreement if gas prices increased to $850, then bus fares would automatically rise again.  At this point, Minister Prashad interjected saying that the ministry was still in deliberations about this.
President of GMBA, Lylon Weithers urged that all minibus drivers comply with the new fare structure.

Representing the GPTA was its Public Relations Officer Compton Giddings and two of its members, Albert and Alexander Bell. And they all endorsed the decrease in fares.  Giddings, in particular, called on all operators to adhere to the new prices which he said had been published in Friday’s edition of this newspaper. He said some adjustments might be required which would be made public shortly.

However, some members of the GPTA are saying that Giddings is not in a position to represent the association since he is on extended leave.
According to Hiram Grant PRO (ag), Giddings had relinquished his responsibilities and he (Grant) was the only person who could represent the association in such matters.  He added that the members had received very late notice of the meeting and had not attended. Consequently, he said, they would not be adhering to the new fares.
Giddings nevertheless insisted that he was still a bona fide executive member of the GPTA and the internal matter that had arisen recently within the organization had been resolved.  He said that this was the new fare structure with a few changes.

Meanwhile, Eon Andrews, the Chairman of the United Minibus Union – Route 45, said that he had been aware of the meeting but had not attended because he had not been given a formal invitation. He said that he incidentally happened to meet with Philbert Archer on Friday night. He said that his union would be willing to comply with the new structures once an official order had been issued carrying the signature of the Minister of Commerce.

Two Wednesdays’ ago, the Minister had made a similar announcement saying that bus fares were to be reduced the following Friday. However several minibus operators failed to implement the new fare structure, and continued to charge their old prices saying that certain conditions had to be met before there would be a decrease. These included a reduction in utility charges.