With the tolls now removed from three major bridges, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said there is a possibility that the government will engage taxi and minibus drivers in efforts to reduce transportation fares.
Effective August 1, 2025, travel across the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), Berbice River Bridge, and the McKenzie/Wismar Bridge in Linden became toll-free as a result of an initiative by the Government of Guyana.
At his press conference, Jagdeo pointed out that in Berbice, public transportation operators had long used the toll as justification for higher fares. He added that residents had often complained about the public transportation operators using that to keep fares high.
However, he said he was informed that even with the tolls now removed, the cost to travel from Berbice to Georgetown remains unchanged. “Now it’s toll-free, but the price didn’t come down. Your price did not reduce. So that’s the problem when you live in a free market system,” he noted.
While citizens have called on the government to regulate transportation costs, Jagdeo said such matters must be approached with care. “So the idea is we’re exploring now some more public transportation,” he said. He explained that this forms part of the government’s overall plan to increase disposable income for citizens.
When asked directly, despite the free market system, if the government should now initiate discussions with taxi and minibus drivers, the Vice President answered in the affirmative.
“I think we should have a discussion with them, but I know there is no magic wand you can use to make people to do that. But yeah, we should constantly have discussions because we want them to do well too. We want people to have low fares, but we want the taxis and the drivers and everybody to also do well,” he said.
“But I agree with the discussions,” he added.
