Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter which was published in the Stabroek News on May 18, captioned ‘Traffic ranks should be stationed at each end of the approaches to the Berbice River Bridge.’ I want to compliment the writer and state that buses do leave the bus park with 15 passengers inclusive of the driver. In our bus parks at both ends the dispatchers do not dispatch an overloaded bus, but if a mother has two children aged 3 and 5, can we charge that mother for those children? No we don’t. One of the things I observed is that Ms Dukhi recognized the police car and number, and the number of traffic ranks but how come she could not provide us with the bus’s number and colour. [Editor’s note: Stabroek News did not publish the number of the police vehicle.] Every time the police catch my drivers with an overload they are charged or placed before the court.In this Association disciplinary action is being taken against every driver who is found in breach of the rules. I would like Ms Dukhi to provide us with the numbers of these buses. Buses operating on the No 56 route load at point A and dispatch at point B, but sometimes we make stops in between on the journey. We also have to pay a toll of $2,200, gas, and $1,000 a dispatcher, and if we had a conductor it would give us little or nothing much to take home or even to maintain our buses. I would like to also note that the ranks of B division on both sides of the bridge go to and fro during the day.
The people who are travelling with these buses know that we have an association which is operating in a disciplined way.
Ms Dukhi could have spoken to the dispatcher about the matter. When seeing the police car and ranks she should have asked the driver to stop and report the incident to the police.
Yours faithfully,
Dennis Chesney
President
Berbice River Bridge
Minibus Association
