Route 56 (Rosignol-New Amsterdam) minibus operators yesterday appealed to the Public Infrastructure Ministers to put measures in place to mitigate their losses since the introduction of the Berbice River water taxi service.
Members of the Route 56 Minibus Association yesterday met with both Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson and Minister within the Ministry Annette Ferguson to voice their concerns over the impact of the service, which was introduced last year to serve school children and the elderly during the negotiations for a reduction of the Berbice River Bridge toll.
According to a statement issued by the ministry yesterday, a dozen operators turned up at the ministry, where they received full attention from both ministers.
It noted that President (Ag) of the Association Dennis Chesney indicated that the bus drivers were “under serious pressure” since the introduction of the Berbice River water taxis.
According to Chesney, the association has seven groups of established drivers who work according to a schedule. In total, there are approximately 50 buses in the association.
He explained that before the introduction of the water taxis, a scheduled rotation had seen the operation of about four groups of drivers each day. However, since the water taxis came on stream, the daily groups have been reduced due to