Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo.

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Prime Minster Moses Nagamootoo has announced that school children, nurses and pensioners will be able to travel free for one month, starting on Monday, September 21 via the Berbice River Taxi.

The announcement was made on September 18, during the opening ceremony of the11th annual Berbice Expo and Trade Fair.

“We are going to provide this service initially for one month so that we bring relief to the many poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our community,” the Prime Minister said.

He explained that the APNU+AFC government is taking such a measure to reinforce the message to the bridge company that the government will not give up until the toll for crossing the Berbice River Bridge is dropped.

“The present fare is unconscionable and un-payable and they must reduce,” the Prime Minister said.

At the budget presentation on August 10, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan had announced that the government would subsidize the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) the amount that is lost from the reduced fares.

While passenger vehicles would enjoy a fixed reduction with the fares expected to drop from $2200 to $1900, other vehicles would have been granted a 10% reduction from September 01. 2015. But due a stalemate between the government and the BBCI, the deal was rejected by the company.

As a result, the government came up with a plan B and announced the introduction of the water taxi service to ply the Rosignol/ New Amsterdam route.

The Bridge Company had announced that since the establishment, the company has not paid back it shareholders. They have indicated that if they agree to the terms of the tolls reduction, the Company can face possible bankruptcy.

The APNU+AFC Coalition tried to push for the reduction of the tolls, in keeping with its 100 days plans of taking office. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon recently noted that consultations are still ongoing with the Company to reduce the toll.

“We expect that good sense will prevail at the appropriate time and that they will decide to do what is the right thing,” the Minister said at a post cabinet media briefing during last week.

The ordinary shareholders s in the BBCI are the National Insurance Scheme, Hand-in-Hand, Demerara Contractors, New GPC and Secure International Finance Company, while State owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) and Queens Atlantic Investment Inc (QAII), which is controlled by Dr. Bobby Ramroop, are the two largest shareholders.