Georgetown, Guyana – (September 18, 2015) Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has announced that the Government of Guyana will begin river taxi operations across the Berbice River on Monday, September 21, 2015.
This announcement made by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at this week’s post Cabinet press briefing. The river taxi service was proposed by the Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, following the delay in the implementation of reduced Bridge tolls, even though the Government had announced a subsidy in the national 2015 budget that would ensure that the company lost no revenue as a result of the reduction.
Minister Patterson, in an invited comment, said that the implementation of the water taxi service, between the West and East Bank of the Berbice River, will be free of cost to all children and nurses in uniform, as well as the elderly. He noted that the operations will operate from 06:00hrs to 18:00hrs daily, in keeping with the maritime rules and regulations.
He said that a team of representatives from the Ministries of Social Protection, Public Infrastructure and Communities will continuously monitor the operations to ensure that the water taxis are operated in accordance with set safety standards and are serving the purpose they are intended for.
This river taxi project is being launched as a pilot project with four vessels, beginning Monday and is expected to last for some 30 days before it is completely rolled out.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister has been mandated by Cabinet to continue his engagements with the Berbice Bridge Company to ensure that the toll is reduced in accordance with the provisions of the 2015 Budget.
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