Berbice Bridge Company bows to
pressure, lowers tolls
The Berbice Bridge Company INC (BBCI) has announced that it will be lowering the toll and freight charges for four-wheel drives/ SUVs/ pickups; Pick-ups pulling trailers with boats, jet skis and other items for recreational use; and 50-seater buses, 30-seater buses and large trucks.
Table with cost variance to be added as well.
BBCI, in a release, established that “no freight will be charged for vehicles carrying pleasure/tourism goods items such as coolers, barbecue grilles, tents, tarpaulin, tables and chairs, food and drinks in the trays of Pick-Ups /4WD/ SUV.”
The company said that the reason for making the decision is because it is celebrating being in operation for over five years.
However, the decision comes in the wake of the political opposition putting pressure on the government with A Partnership of Natural Unity (APNU) executive member, Joe Harmon, advancing a motion in the National Assembly for the reduction of the Berbice Bridge toll for all the vehicles crossing.
Harmon is requesting that the National Assembly call on the government to instruct its representative on the Board of Directors of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. to demand an immediate reduction in tolls charged for crossing the Berbice River.
Harmon’s position was that a reduction in the Bridge toll was necessitated since many Berbicians and commuters are complaining about the high costs required to travel across the bridge.
His reasoning behind the reduction was that; if the BBCI could reduce the toll by half for vehicles during the “holiday season” last August (which he felt was really done to facilitate PPP/C congress that was held in Berbice) then it could be done across the board.
Harmon Further articulated that the motion was brought to the National Assembly to address the question of devolution of wealth from the populace into the hands of a few. The money actually belonged to Guyanese because the shares for the company belong to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the National Industrial Commercial and Investment Limited (NICIL), he said.
According to Harmon, since its commissioning in December 2008, the Berbice Bridge has facilitated the crossing of over 650,000 vehicles, resulting in annual revenue of over $1.5B.
He said that the Berbice Bridge was built with significant investment by the Government of Guyana, “on behalf of the People of Guyana.”