…Minibus Association criticises Gov’t decision to allow normal seating capacity
By Lisa Hamilton
In the middle of a deadly pandemic, one of things that President of the United Minibus Union (UMU), Eon Andrews cannot understand is why a Government would give minibus operators the go-ahead to carry their normal number of passengers, knowing many would overdo it.
As far back as October 1, 2020, the updated Emergency COVID-19 Measures have allowed motor vehicles and other transport to carry the number of passengers which the said transport “is licensed to carry”. However, for as far back as many can remember, the ‘pit bull’ minibusses which dot the Stabroek Market and other parks have seldom adhered to what they are “licensed to carry”, even under normal circumstances.
With the Christmas season beginning and the climbing hustle and bustle of business amid the pandemic, Andrews fears that the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) has made a deadly decision that is likely to put at risk the health of thousands of Guyanese.
“If you tell bus people to carry their capacity I can bet you that they’re going to put an extra one and that is what is happening,” the UMU President told the Village Voice News on Tuesday.
“We cannot have a world where the countries that have the capacity to some extent to deal with this are doing everything possible but Guyana is telling bus people that they must carry the full capacity with everybody pasted on to each other.”
International organisations such as the WHO/PAHO recommend that persons remain at least 6 feet away from each other during the global health crisis. The local Ministry of Health is also encouraging Guyanese to do the same while out and about. However, Andrews said that only on Monday night he took a trip to Stabroek Market bus park and saw that some minibusses were carrying up to four and five persons per seat. In other cases, he said that passengers, minibus operators, and touts were not properly attired with facemasks.
Though the UMU has had meetings with the Ministry of Education regarding the very matter when it was announced that schools were to be reopened and with the Ministry of Labour regarding formalizing the public/private minibus sector, the NCTF has nonetheless made the decision to allow operations as per normal.
In the early months of the pandemic, minibus operators were advised to carry only two passengers while maintaining a 3 feet distance. There were calls too for them to operate at 75% capacity. The Village Voice News observed that many minibus operators were adhering to this guideline and some passengers would even refuse to travel in a minibus otherwise. In the present day, this has changed significantly.
Andrews said that he has received complaints that passengers are being verbally abused when they speak up about these health risks while in minibusses and they oftentimes resort to complying for the sake of being transported to their destination.
“It’s Christmas time and we know people will start traveling, a lot of things can happen. I do not agree with this nonsense. Some of the persons that I represent may take umbrage to what I’m saying because all they’re looking at is this little money,” the UMU President.
He said that the media appears to be one of the only means through which the concerns of the Union are being heard. Even so, he commended operators in Bartica who are still actively working to carry two passengers per seat.
He called on the Ministry of Health to do better in its management of the virus, especially in areas where there is common knowledge of overcrowding and abuse of established regulations.
