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Through the thick and thin, through the fare increases and the strikes,Brendan Gallagher Canadiens Jersey, the overloads and the speeding,Rod Langway Capitals Jersey, members of the travelling public have been forced to continue to utilize the services of minibuses, because for most persons, they have no other alternative.At present, many persons who utilise minibuses on a daily basis feel that they are being held at ransom, because they are being forced to put up with all of the shortcomings of minibus operators, and the minibus industry as a whole.“Every single night, when I am going home, I am forced to deal with crowded and overloaded minibuses,” said a man. He added that since the police do not often search minibuses at night,Glenn Anderson Rangers Jersey, the minibus operators generally overload their vehicles.Additionally,Henri Richard Canadiens Jersey, he said that the speed with which the minibuses travel is quite excessive.Many other commuters have expressed similar sentiments.“My boss will not listen to me if I tell him that I did not make it to work on time, because all of the minibuses were full. So I have to take being squeezed up in a bus, so that I can get to work on time,” said a young woman.There is little provision put in place for persons who have to work until late in the night. Getting a minibus after 22:00 hours can be extremely difficult, especially if the commuter’s destination is the West Coast or West Bank Demerara.Many residents, who live on the West Coast or West Bank, have lamented the sad state of transportation and have said that they have had to stand up, sometimes for hours on end, as they wait for a bus to take them home.The only other alternative is taking a taxi; this usually proves too expensive for most persons, especially over long distances.On the other hand,Jonas Gustavsson Red Wings Jersey, minibus operators have said in their defence that they have to take overloads if they are to make any money from their trade.The operators pointed to the high cost of living and the prices of essential spare parts, saying that members of the public did not fully understand all of the expenses involved in minibus work.Additionally, many of the operators said that they had to incur considerable expense in removing the stickers from their minibuses,Paul Coffey Penguins Jersey, to have their vehicles up to standard with the Road Service License for this year.Compton Giddings, the Public Relations Officer for the Guyana Public Transportation Association (GPTA) had previously said that most minibuses do no carry overload. He placed the blame on a few minibuses,Alex Delvecchio Red Wings Jersey, which he termed ‘boomers,’ that carry overloads and have loud music.In response to many of the traffic woes,Derick Brassard Rangers Jersey, the Guyana Police Force launched ‘Operation Safeway’ on October 25,Tom Wilson Capitals Jersey, 2007. By the end of last year, the operation had netted almost 6500 cases of overloaded minibuses.Nonetheless, in the midst of the operations of the police, and the minibus operators who are apparently trying to make ends meet, the commuters are suffering. They are forced to accept substandard and many times, unsafe practices of the public transportation industry. |
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