Dear Editor,
I have noted with interest the recent media releases about the Guyana Police Force’s intent to go after touts in the various minibus parks and would like to draw attention to a situation that exists in the La Parfaite Harmonie bus park. At this park there is a gang of touts which forces operators who wish to work during the day and need to use the park facilities provided for the ‘Dairy route’ (Route 31) to pay some ridiculous fees. This gang consists of a network who extract a fee of $3,000 for 6 trips or a fee of $2,000 for 4 trips. This simply means if I am a minibus operator, I need to decide if I am going to pay $3,000 or $2,000 when I arrive in the morning at this park. In addition to this I am required to pay a fee of $200 each time my bus is loaded.
The touts/criminals, who all have conductors’ licences as their cover, would have members at the entrance and exit of the park looking out for members of the Guyana Police Force. Other members would have a compliant bus operator to place his bus in such a way that it will block the southern gate to the Stabroek Market from where maybe 90% of passengers would approach the park. This area is commonly called the “hotplate” and is illegal for bus loading use. When passengers approach the park they first see the tout buses and will be herded into them by these individuals. To compete with these buses the non-paying operators would go into the hotplate area and try to convince the passengers to leave the buses up front to come to the back where their buses are lined up. It follows most passengers would take a bus at the front and one that has more people and not go to the back to where buses are lined up and have hardly anyone in them.
Despite the odds some people do come down to the back and those would be friends, neighbours or family of a particular operator and they have to be prepared to repel these criminals. It will on occasion happen too, that more passengers arrive at the park than the tout buses can handle, and then they will filter down to the buses at the back. In the event one of the buses at the back fills the touts will promptly turn up to demand $200.
It should be noted that if your refuse to pay these upfront fees then threats of harm, abuse, bus keys thrown away, etc. will follow. Another weapon in their arsenal is “grounding.” This is where all these touts gang up to drag and coerce passenger not to travel with you. It is their stated intention that you should sell your bus or leave the zone when this happens.
A previous letter published by your newspaper drew attention to this situation and for a few days following, there was some presence by the Traffic Department and members of the City Constabulary. However it should be noted that none of the gang members have been arrested even with this zero tolerance of the touts’ campaign that netted 89 touts in one day.
It is my opinion this is not purely a matter of soliciting passengers (touting) since if I stood in front of any lawful business and demanded the owners pay me a sum every day, and if not I would threaten them, curse them, drag their customers over to a store that complied with my demands, in addition to which I had to get a percentage of sales on every transaction, I would be promptly locked up for demanding money with menaces, and quite rightly so. These are not the regular touts who fill your bus and accept a fee for doing this; these are the park managers.
I now call on the authorities to take a serious look at this matter, because this is an organized gang which will only grow and expand into other areas if left on its own.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
