At the opening ceremony for the long-awaited Berbice River Bridge, President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that the bridge would help to ease the travelling woes for commuters, especially schoolchildren.
Schoolchildren at Rosignol on Friday
However this newspaper caught up with some schoolchildren on Friday afternoon as they were leaving the ferry on their way home. When asked, they said they had not used the bridge for school because they could not afford the high transportation cost. Some observers have suggested that a system could be worked out where they would go up to the bridge and special vehicles from the eastern end would wait in front of the toll station to avoid paying the charges and take the children across at a cheaper rate.
Meanwhile, traffic chief of ‘B’ Division, Owen Trotz told Stabroek News that Route 50 minibuses are allowed to go to New Amsterdam to drop along the Main Road, turn into New Street and then along the market area.
He said they would then have to go to the NA stelling to await passenger to take back to West Berbice. Likewise, the traffic chief said Route 63 buses can also take passengers up to the Rosignol stelling. Trotz urged the drivers to obey the speed limit on the bridge and to exercise caution when using the approach road on the eastern side as “it is not finished as yet.”
ONCE AGAIN THE SHORTSIGHTEDNESS OF THE JAGDEO ADMINISTRATION IS TRANSPARENT FOR ALL TO SEE.
well if the school children can’t cross the bridge then dont go to
school its that simple that is the ppp head quarters and if they
dont care about their supporters children that tells the story , YAL
GETTING USE AND ABUSE BY YAL GOVT. RIDE THE DONKEY…..
THE PPP SUPPORTERS WERE HAPPY A FEW WEEKS AGO WITH THE OPENING OF
THE FLOATING BRIDGE BIG PROGRESS NOW THE AWAKENING OF REALITY PAY
OR STAY, MY SUGGESTION TO ALL BERBICIANS EAT LESS PAY MORE TO YR
GOVT.
Mack, the real reason for the bridge was more political than economic. The political goal has been met so the powers that be couldn’t be bothered with anything else. May God almighty deliver us from these our leaders!
i suggest the govt offer school children(guyana’s future)a half price feeto cross the the bridge, its only fair that they apply this approach.
I get lambasted by the bloggers who read and do not have the insight to understand the relationship between the needs of the poor and the greeds of the rich. Everytime I speak of the bridge, “CERTAIN BLOGGERS” get up in arms and have made some very disrespectful comments without fully understanding the financial hardships imposed on the the have nots, I hope they read S.N’s article carefully and understand for they know who they are.
i have said it i have said it and i will say it again the prices are too high.the board of directors that draft this particular price did not think with their hearts on this.it is the school children now what about the elderly.if the prices are going to remain then PUT SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO ASSIST THE VULNERABLE IN THE SOCIETY school children should be allowed to use such system at half price while pensioners should be allowed to used the the system for free on presentation of proof of identity.
HAVE A HEART AND PRACTICE SOME SMART ECONOMICE FOR THE LONG TERM NAH.GOSH
you’re so correct anthony, here in ny the elderly travel on a discounted fare and they have an id card to show that they are senior citizen.
First of all it was a dumb idea to have toll booth on only one side of the bridge. Toll should be collected both ways rather than charging a return toll when crossing from the Rosignol end.Second, the toll should have been the same as that charged by the Ferry or even less since the bridge would have encouraged more traffic.
The children would have to pay more since they would have been travelling longer distances by vehicle. However, the reduced toll for the vehicle would keep that cost down for the children.
Talk about no child let behind…this bridge has left the children of Berbice behind. What an insult! Where is your compassion Mr. Pres? Have special fares set for children, for example, from 7-9 am and from 2- 4 pm children will pay a reduce fare to accommodate the school sessions.
This bridge was not built with the poor in mind. As I stated before,now is the perfect time for parliament to allocate some much need funds towards the upgrade of the inefficient ferry service. You’d be surprise with the outcome.