Thank you for visiting WWW.BELGRAFIX.COM, "Grenada on the Internet, one byte at a time"

HOME	OCTOBER 01st, 2005

Bus operators associated with the Grenville Bus Association (GBA) are unhappy with the 50 cents increase in the fares that were given to their membership by Transport Minister Dr. Clarice Modeste-Curwen.

The Minister announced the increases to come into effect from October 1 at a press conference last Friday at the Melville Street Fish Market.

Energy Minister Gregory Bowen also announced at the press conference a hike in gas prices to take effect this Saturday. The new bus fares are said to have met the approval of members of the National Bus Association (NBA) headed by Lewis Rouse.

Bartholomew told reporters that although NBA accepted the increase, it is the one that will feel the pressure. He pointed out that unlike the other buses, NBA is operating an express service from Grenville to St. George's and back and so they will only receive a flat fee.

According to the bus operator, their counterparts on the other routes drop off and pick up passengers at various points and so they are the ones that will benefit from the 50 cents increase.

Bartholomew said that although the increase is not significant, they had agreed to accept the 50 cents because they realise that times are hard and they have to continue providing a service to commuters. "Our intention was to have the price from St. George's to Grenville at $6.00 but as the Minister said 50 cents across the board so we had to accept it", he remarked.

Bartholomew also spoke of the impact the new gas price will have on the operations of busmen. He disclosed that on one trip, a busman will purchase between $21 to $22 worth of gas but with the increase in fuel price, they will now be forced to purchase about $30 worth of gas.

In addition, he noted that in the past tyres used to last six months but now they have to be changed every six weeks. The bus operator reminded the government ministers of the promise made by Finance Minister Anthony Boatswain during the 2005 Budget presentation that gas price will increase but the cost of parts and tyres will be reduced.

Bartholomew called on the Transport Minister to look into the situation since he said that the costs of tyres and other vehicular parts have not gone down. Meanwhile, a GBA bus operator is calling on the Ministry of Public Utilities to give some much needed attention to the St. George's to Grenville road.

He told GRENADA TODAY that he had noticed a marked increase in the number of pot holes especially in the Vendomme -Beaulieu areas.

The bus driver believes the road needs urgent attention so as to ease the additional burden on vehicle owners who have to replace parts on their vehicles on a regular basis especially in light of the increase in gas prices.