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T&HD implements subsidy to cushion Berbice passengers

May 19, 2013 News

 

 ….pontoon service down for a month

The Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) pontoon that plies the New Amsterdam-Rosignol route has been down for nearly a month. School children and workers commuting the Berbice River are feeling the financial pressures as a result.
While T&HD has stepped in to subsidize the cost of each commuter utilizing its services to cross the Berbice River since the pontoon service is currently out- of- order, the entire arrangement is being criticized.
Additionally, the traveling public is left to speculate whether this is the much anticipated gradual pull- out of the T&HD pontoon service from both stellings, so as to slowly make passengers adapt to the use of the more-than-costly-to-cross Berbice River Bridge.
Many persons have been paying $300 to get across to either side with minibuses but last week, an arrangement between the T&HD and a few minibus operators started whereby workers and school children pay $60 to travel across the Berbice River, by purchasing a ticket at either stelling and joining the buses participating in the arrangement, in the stelling.
Kaieteur News understands that the minibus operators will be reimbursed the difference by T&HD.
But not everyone in the traveling public seems to be aware of this arrangement since nothing has been publicized.
An employee of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) bemoaned the entire ordeal one has to endure every working day to get to work via the Berbice River. The individual outlined the new procedure being used by the T&HD and claimed too that the officials at the N/A stelling close off earlier than usual leaving them stranded when they do get off from work.
That is when they are forced to pay $300 and get across the river with the buses that have not been part of the subsidy arrangements.
“The last pontoon would normally leave New Amsterdam at 17:00hrs, “however sometimes you turn up at 4 [pm], [and] they close off…I left work at ten [minutes to] 4 and by the time I reach the stelling at 4, they closed off and a set of school children and nurses walked out and catch buses at the bus park.” Those persons had to pay the full $300 since the stelling closed off its services.
“Like the supervisor want to close off early to go home or something and it’s very hard on us because I have a child who is attending Berbice High [School] and it’s very hard on us”, the commuter stated.
Efforts to contact the T&HD New Amsterdam Ferry Stelling as well as Region Six Chairman, Mr. David Armogan were unsuccessful.

 

 

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