Bus service should have refunded money for unused tickets

Dear Editor,

Special thanks are extended to GT&T for introducing the innovative Fast Ball tournament. It provided much entertainment to fans and exposure to smaller teams, though eventually it was only the big name teams that made it through to the finals. There was however one area which left a sour note with the participants of the Rupununi District and that pertained to the transportation arrangements.

Two teams, a male and female team, advanced from the Rupununi zone to play knockout matches in Georgetown. GT&T provided road transportation for the participants. This was during the heart of the rainy season and the G/town-Lethem road was in a very bad state and road travel was very difficult. Some of the players decided to utilize air transport since it was much faster and more comfortable. They assumed that it would have been a simple process to get refunds for the bus tickets which they did not utilize (similar arrangements had been undertaken previously and players were refunded their ticket).

When these players approached the bus service for a refund it was flatly refused.  The operator stated that they had a contract with GT&T for a specified number of persons and it was the liability of the individual if they did not use their bus ticket. The players argued against this because they were informed that seats not used by the players were taken by other passengers. This meant that the bus service received double payment for the seats and obviously did not incur a loss due to the players’ decision to forego their seats.

To date none of the players has received a refund and seems unlikely to do so.  At least four players did not use their bus seats. When the return ticket is calculated it means that the bus service received in excess of $100,000 for a service which they did not provide.

Is there anything that GT&T can do to intervene on behalf of these players? It seems very unfair that the players cannot be refunded their money when the bus service used up the same seats for other passengers and were paid by those other passengers.

The main reason why the bus seats were not used was because of the condition of the road. This should be a simple matter of the operator understanding the situation and acting accordingly.

If nothing can be done for these players, then GT&T is urged to reconsider using this bus service for any other contract. If this arrangement was made through a Lethem based service then such a situation would never have occurred and the refunds would have been a simple process.

Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)