PM promises to review bus fares
By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com
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Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – OWING to the unchanged price of bus fares despite the tumbling cost of gasoline within past months, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas reassured Kittitians that he has heard their pleas and would act to mitigate their suffering.
Douglas made these comments in response to a listener’s question during his weekly “Ask the Prime Minister” radio show.
He indicated that Cabinet met earlier this month and had asked representatives from the local bus drivers’ association to address the matter.
However, Douglas stressed that the situation would be handled “very cautiously”.
“There was a time when the busmen were able to absorb the escalating prices of gasoline and they worked with us to try to curtail the prices in the bus fares in order to help protect the consumer. Now the situation has been reversed and we’re going to negotiate with the bus association. The Ministry of Transport has already been given this mandate from Cabinet,” said the PM.
Douglas reinforced the government’s commitment to a solution that would be beneficial to commuters and the bus operators.
“The government is sensitive to the calls that have come from the people. We are trying to tackle this matter in the most equitable way that we can, recognising that there was a time when the busmen did absorb the rising cost of gasoline by maintaining the bus fare and then the fee rose because absorbing all of that cost had become a little ridiculous.
“But the extra cost that has been added, especially to persons living between Sandy Point and Saddlers, will need to be examined so some readjustments can be made,” he declared.
Since arriving at a high of EC$18.59 per gallon of June last year, gas prices have dropped dramatically within the past several months, falling to a low of EC$7.74 per gallon in December. ~~Adz:Right~~
