Social activist Mark Benschop was arrested at Blairmont yesterday for obstruction of traffic and was subsequently released on his own recognizance.
He later told this newspaper that he had been charged and would appear in court tomorrow. In addition, the police at Blairmont while they allowed Benschop to go, impounded his vehicle.
Benschop, while at the station, called the charge “a directive from above” insisting that he broke no law. He was detained while travelling back to the city for what he described as his non-refusal to pay an exorbitant fee to cross the Berbice Bridge.
But reports are that Benschop left his vehicle parked in an area close to the bridge where there is a flow of vehicular traffic. This was reportedly after he refused to pay the toll and subsequently boarded another vehicle.
The toll at the Berbice River Bridge is still an issue for commuters who have said that there seems to be no proper system in place for categorizing vehicles so as to decide what the rightful charge should be.
At its opening on December 23 the structure was hailed as a motor for investment in the Ancient County and the end to crippling travel woes for commuters. However, just days after the bridge’s opening many commuters said they found the toll too steep and opted to continue using the Rosignol/New Amsterdam Ferry.
Benschop, founder and chairman of the charitable Mark Benschop Foundation, told Stabroek News that he arrived at the bridge’s toll booth some time between 8.30 and 8.45 yesterday morning he was informed that the toll for his vehicle was $7,000. However, Benschop said, the price list at the booth identified the toll for a vehicle such as his as $4,000.
“I decided to use the ferry instead since it was specified that only trucks would be allowed to continue using the service… the description on my vehicle’s registration clearly states that it is a pick-up truck but I was denied entry to the ferry,” Benschop explained.
Benschop then decided to return to the bridge and was subsequently told that the toll was $13,600.
“I couldn’t understand how this was so because only minutes before the booth attendant had said that the cost to cross was $7,000,” Benschop said.
Further, the man explained that he remained in his position at the toll booth for two and half hours before finally paying $4,000 to cross the bridge. During that time, Benschop said, he was told by the booth attendant that vehicles like his own were charged based on their weight.
However, the man explained that there is no scale at the Berbice River Bridge and it is “unfair” and “improper” for bridge authorities to simply estimate the weight of a vehicle if indeed it is charged based on that.
In an invited comment yesterday Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Berbice River Bridge Incorporated, Omadat Samaroo, explained that a vehicle like the one driven by Benschop fell under the “Goods Vehicle” group and was therefore charged based on its weight.
Samaroo explained that vehicles in this group were charged under three categories. Goods vehicle under 1,000 kilogramme (kg) are charged $4,000; those weighing from 1,001kg to 2,000kg are charged $7,600 and vehicles weighing 2,001kg to 3,000kg are charged $13,600.
The “unladen weight” of such vehicles, the CEO explained, should be printed on but failing this the vehicle’s registration will contain its weight. Further, he said that the standard weight of many models of goods-transporting vehicles was known.
According to Samaroo, many citizens drive goods transporting vehicles as a “luxury item” and are only realizing the grouping of such vehicles when faced with the toll. In the first instance when Benschop would have been charged $7,000, the CEO explained, he would have been undercharged due to human error.
Benschop told this newspaper that his vehicle’s registration states its weight as more than 4,000kg.
With regard to Benschop having held up the line at the toll booth, Samaroo said the situation could have been managed in a “better manner” so as to avoid hampering the bridge’s efficiency.
No scale at the bridge? Hai pagal, put in a scale and let the scale do the weighing and categorizng.
Scale or no scale the toll is too much even in the US they don’t charge that much.
Until his death, Sam Walton (OWNER OF WALMART) drove a 2500kg pick-up SUV.
If !!CHARITY MAN Mark Benschop!! wants to drive a 4000kg luxury vehicle then he should pay the price and not disgrace normal peaceful Guyanese citizens.
This man is a joke waiting to happen.
SHAME ON WE COUNTY, EH, BERBICE EH, THEY BEST GET GOOD SECURITY AT THAT BRIDGE, YOU THAT CHINESE SHOP IN ROSEHALL. THAT USE TO SELL PASTRIES, YEARS AGO, IT CLOSE DOWN NOW,
I try at times to make sense of what Satish writes because its not much. To the main point whether there is a scale or not the fees are too much for struggling Guyanese.
Awaiting to hear the real saga of this, (a coin has three sides,) head, tails and middle. a story comprises of, whole and half lies, entire truth,
who’s telling the truth from begining to end and I purchasing a pound of salt to swallow what the foolices has to say.
Ben needs to run with his family away from Guyana for good, it’s not going to be over for him, he never seems to adhere to advise from anyone.
Mr. Green needs to throw his “top off foolices” off the force, this is a new year, the same as begun, it’s like an uncurable sore.
Guyanese who are in favor of mob rule will surely support Mr Benschop. The law clearly states that vehicles over 2001 kgs to 3000 kgs have to pay $13,600. He told this news paper that his is over 4000 kgs. He was asked to pay much less than he was supposed to in the first place. Lucky him. Guyana like any other country has laws, enforcing them is another matter. If he has a problem with the toll price, like many other users of the bridge do, then he should take his protest to the relevant authority. Not bullying the toll employees and obstructing the free flow of traffic.
cheryl let him run from guyana and try to block the verrazano bridge. we as guyanese is very disrespectiful to our country but when we leave guyana shores we abide by the laws in other country.
Luckily is not jailed for 72 hours, thinks that he’s bigger than the law. Sloah fyaah mo fyaah.
Mob minded!
yes,let him run from guyana and see if he can block bridges in another country. Those who promote lawlessness can also support him in his efforts.
Let’s poll this Mark Benshop’s toll incident.
The PPP/C government is communist for overcharging for the use of the Berbice Bridge. YES or NO?
The Jagdeo’s government is capitalist for not lowering the toll for the Berbice Bridge. YES or NO?
…
The reporter has written a more objective and fair news item than some of the subjective and one sided pieces appearing in Stabroek News. A response was for example obtained from the Berbice Bridge operators.It is clear that Benschop had to pay a certain fee and he refused, went into a tantrum and apparently broke traffic regulations. Yet, as if to lend support for Benschop’s apparent thoughtless act because he couldn’t get his way, the reporter cites “many communters” having problems with the toll.There are always those who will complain and will , like in the New York subways, jump over the turnstiles. But why not give better balance and add that there are also those who recognise this significant development in Guyana’s infrasstructure and willing to pay the toll.
It is hoped that security cameras are in effect to monitor activities on the bridge.
Lock up up and throw away the keys this time….No pardons for ungrateful people like him. The Laws must not be disrespected,everyone else pays to use the bridge,Does he have a special exemption not to pay as a former prisoner.This is just ridiculous.If you refuse to pay then he should park and swim.
Talk about improper treatment. Only on Friday a few friends of mine were discussing the price for this bridge and no one made a creditable remark of this price…it’s too f*&^%%$ much!!If they continue like this i betcha they would make 0, here is why….Mini buses with passengers have to pay more to cross thus increasing the fares for passengers immediately..The passenger will fell “robbed” and choose to use the ferry and use another bus in New Amsterdam. Therefore the buses with then travel to the ferry for passenger to use the ferry and leaving the bridge as a white elephant….on water!
Just as they did with the vehicles to ensure the use of the bridge….they will abandon the ferry service for this bridge to make money if it comes to that…never underestimate our decision makers.
Where the heck citizens going to get this amount of cash to pay 4 crossing, fares r 2 high, darn, there goes the big boys again, the small man with children have to grow wings.
D11N, what you said is true but don’t forget, if the govt shuts down the ferry people will start using speedboat service (one will be created out of necessity). Poor people will find a way to cross the river; it makes no sense for a poor man to pay one week’s salary to cross a bridge.
do not forget the bridge cost money, and it will cost more to maintain it, just like a boxer he trains to be the champ and when he gets there it cost him more to stay up there, so be realistic, only in burnham time you get freeness that is why the country run from the bread basket of the caribbean to the beggars of the hemisphere, so give the government a chance to rebuild the economy, too much freeness is not good.
talking about white elephant; what about CUFFY AND DAMON SQUARE? WE ARE IN A FAST WORLD, TIME IS THE ESSENCE THAT IS WHY ALL WILL USED THE BRIDGE AT ANY COST.BUT I STILL DISAGREE WITH THE FARE IT IS TOO HIGH.IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD THE COST STAY AWAY, DO NOT DISTURB THE PEACE.
Development costs money, time is money, what ya’ll want free for all, no! Who would pay the shareholders? By weight stipulation it’s far cheaper than other places.
They will definitely let the ferry service grind to a halt!!! This is what political patronage in this government is all about. The bridge must be paid for, political hacks behind the scene must make money!! We will see tremendous restrictions at the ferry so that the bridge will have to be used. Do I foresee a parallel speedoat crossing coming into mainstream??? There will definitely be a change in transportation to and from GT, there is tremendous scope for the smart bus operators here!! They should capitalise on this blunder while they can.
SF..You are always first to mislead people…The mini busses for one will be benifitting from the Bridge, let me show you how…
one minibus with passengers to cross on the ferry will cost you $2,800 return while the BBC is $2,200.00 return,, is this higher than the ferry? Added to this you will have at least 2 hours waiting time with the ferry which will involve additional cost, which one you will opt for?.I think you and your friends will choose the ferry… in that case it will be a white elephant.
50 plus US dolloars to cross a floating bridge is disgrace. This is another get rich scheme for a regime hiding behind the absence of a FOI act
You are right! This is an abuse by the powers that be.
The toll is very steep indeed. On the other hand, Mark hasn’t learned anything from his past. His hasty methods of dealing with issues seems to always disrespect the rules of law.
Its simple, if people are charging too much to cross thier bridge, take the ferry; you save money, they loose money.
Justice4all.. you hit the hammer on the nail. Some foreigners are sayint that it’s not much but it is. In terms of dollar value it is a lot. It’s like paying $50.00CDN or $49.00USD per trip. That’s a lot. With the current economical situation in Guyana who can afford that? Some mini buses will be working for nothing if they keep using that bridge. I support Mark 100000000%. He who feels it, knows it and those who support the government that pretends to be there for the people will be against Mark. He has options of leaving Guyana for good but he made a committment to help people and bring certain situation to light and that’s what he is doing.
Seems like this bridge will be of little asset to the people Guyana. Geeeze these prices are jus rediculous. Long live the ferry…dont rush time. There is nothing there for the Guyanese people, cost of living is too high in a country that has that high percent of unemployment rate. Trinidad is doing much better than Guyana. You can tell by the amount of Guyanese camping out over here, including myself. Yet Guyana has a higher VAT rate than that of Guyanas.
This Guyana Government has sent all my peers in excile…and it aint stoping there…
We all know the price is not fare to all, but thats not the way to protest it by blocking the bridge, Would u have like if that clerk was someone for u? The price is there for everyone to pay AND NOT JUST HIM, Don’t take out your fustration on the regular worker trying to make a living, take your arrogance to the upper people in Government. Still CAN”T understand why this Guy Was PARDON by the Govt. People like these need to move out of Guyana and go live in the Sahara and never return, because they will ALWAYS make problems with the Govt.
PS: Authorities need to do something about that TOLL, It’s not FAIR to the Public.
Well said Countryman…Jajdeo should have never pardon this man, they will live to regret it…but this man is taking out his vengance on the ordinary citizens,,he need to take it to Jagdeo.
he should face the full force of the law,parking your vehicle at the toll booth is blatantly disregard for those in authority.totally disrespectfull individual.
IF MANY ACTIVIST HAD CHOSEN TO FOLLOW “RULES” WHEN THEY WERE DEEMED WRONG, THEN WE WILL ALL STILL BE UNABLE TO ENJOY SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ENJOY 2DAY. THAT TOLL IS TOO STEEP FOR THE ORDANARY MAN THAT HAVE BEEN FORCED TO DO SO BY THAT THE FULLL FORCE OF THE LAW.
If he did this, he’s a fool, like I said, he never learns, let’s wait on better reports, different versions, Oh well!, who can we trust for proper reporting.?
Why you dont shut up if you dont have anything good to say. can’t you see they were trying to rip th eman off? That is wickedness in high places. Why do people have to pay so much to cross a bridge. Like they build that bridge to make money. You need to look at the facts of life, lambada.
and what is the full force of the law my friend’it’s only a traffic violation, and one should’nt be going to jail for that, only a fine should be instituted.
These peopole don’t know what they are doing, one time he was
told that the price is 7,000 and the price that is listed is
4,000 for the size of vehicle that he is driving, then he
was told again that the price is 13,600.
Why so much money to cross a bridge, these prices is
as if you booking a flight with DELTA.
He was not disrespectfull, he was right LAMBADA.
AMEN-RA, WHY DONT YOU PARK AT THE TOLL OF THE BRIDGE AND LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE THERE, THEN YOU WILL TELL ME IF IT IS A TRAFFIC VOILATION YOU GET, FYI THIS MAN NEEDS TO BE IN JAIL.
if you park your car (from personal experience and knowledge)and abandon it, it will most likely be towed and you will inherit the expense for locating it, accumulating a few parking violations (tickets), paying a fine and paying the daily storage fees which can be astronomical. or you can do like my foolish brother – just leave the car (which he owned) totally in the impound yard (which they can now sell to recoup residual balance), rack up interest on any relevant outstanding ticket(s), rack up interest on the parking ticket, have your license suspended (acculmulate points against your license) and lose the vehicle totally to the city for not paying the outstanding daily storage fees. eaily an expense of about $10K US or more. but no jail time or maybe a warrant for not paying the ticket and having an outstanding judgement which could ultimately lead to a warrant for an arrest for the outstanding ticket and not for parking on the bridge.
things are so crazy in guyana and they are flooding the court system with such petty matters and putting folks in that filty jail for “reasons” I cannot fanthom.
why do we as a soceity always think that some one needs to be in jail or always like to pass judgement? what if the table were turn and it was a relative or some other less public person and just an ordinary citizen? would the cry be to put that individual in jail. bet the comments and reactions would be quite different and the actions would appear to be too harsh if that individual was sent to jail.
since when an individual is sent to jail for a parking / traffic violation? i guess in guyana that is the norm. that is ludacris. it should only lead to jail sentence if upon investigating the current situation, it is found out that the person in question have an outstanding warrant.
the police are totally overwhelming the system and themselves and it appeart that they do not know how to handle simple matters and / or so used to deal with large scale criminal activities that they have become desensitized and only can punish in the mass or extreme.
Lambda would you pay u.s$ 68.50 to cross the berbice bridge, or would you pay it here in the u.s.a.
The situation at the Berbice Bridge is so ridiculous words cannot explain. I live in the NYC area and used most of the Bridges to get from Borough to Borough. I owned a SUV/TRUCK which is similar to Benchop, the toll cost US$5:00 which is equivalent to G$1000.00. Do the maths and you would see why the toll on the Berbice Bridge is way too high. Mind you the Bridges in NYC are more modern and cost more to build. Way to go Mark with your civil disobedience.
If you know to drive in the NYC area you can avoid paying the tolls, can do you same get around Berbice.
Leroy,
Your bridges in NYC were built decades ago and has already paid for themselves since the tolls were $1.50. Yuh can’t compare Manhattan, Brooklyn, Verrazanno, etc. wit Berbice River Bridge. Wha wrong wid yuh boy?
No love for Benschop – the man is a troublemaker. But $G4,000 – 13,600 fares, no scale and no walkway: man, this is a knife in the ribs of the Guyanese people if I ever saw one.
If they now add insult to injury and abolish the Berbice ferry, I will go home, apologize to Lomash Roopnarine, and join the movement for the secession of Berbice.
MARK CAN PUT AN OUTBOARD ENGINE ON HIS SUV AND AVOIDE THE TOLL THAT ALL OTHERS PAY INSTEAD OF HOLDING UP TRAFFIC.
Leroy bai do you know somethig called economy of scale?
The tolls being charged at that bridge are exorbitant and exploitative, ever by American standards. Those prices represent more of a shakedown of the commuter, than a toll.
Seems as thought the investors want to be repaid in a year, then pure proifts for the rest of their lives.
Joe.
Joe, this bridge toll is a rip off. The first semi-proper bridge they’ve assembled and its costing people an arm and a leg to cross it. Unless they make it affordable, most people will probably go back to using the ferries and the bridge and its investor will suffer big losses. If the investors’ anticipated gains are not achieved, maintenance funds will fall short. We’ll then end up with two run down bridges in the country.
I really hope they know what they are doing.
Mark i aggree with u but one man can stand up to that maddness on the bridge but it good that you take an stand i think the government need to address this problem ,this bridge in see to be helping berbice with that price how much to cross habour bridge that the reason they build this bridge in berbice with out walk way they always take berbice for fools
I have a headache after trying to read your blog. Please re-read your stuff before before hitting the “send button”.
say what
Continue to speak your mind Guyanagirl, don’t be discouraged. Drop in a few commas/periods and we’ll hear you even louder.
Guyanagirl—Mark is only hurting himself, they will lock him up as long as he breaks the law,,and still he cannot change the price,,,if you say Berbice people are fools I disagree with you,,,If you say they have money, I will agree with you.