CATEGORY:ECONOMY/MONEY -------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA THURSDAY July 02,2007 by Wallace J.A GRENADA: The cost of bus fares is scheduled to increase by fifty cents across the board from August 15, 2007. The announcement was made earlier this week by Transportation Minister, Hon. Brenda Hood, after a series of meetings with the Grenada Bus Drivers’ Association. The bus drivers were requesting an increase of one dollar to the current bus fare, citing increases in the cost of fuel and general operating cost as justification for the increase. This proposal, however, was rejected by Minister Hood who took into consideration the increase in the cost of living in the country. In the end, the Minister and the bus drivers agreed to a fifty cents increase across the board. The busmen were also requesting that secondary school children be made to pay the adult fare, whether they were in school uniform or not. The Minister did not agree to this, however, and some future meeting will be scheduled to discuss the matter. Pre-primary and primary school children will pay half the adult fare and the additional fifty cents charged on Sundays and on public holidays will continue. The traveling public, as expected, are annoyed over the proposed hike in the bus fare. All the persons interviewed by Grenadian Connection were opposed to an increase in the bus fare at this time. Many complained about the increase in the cost of cooking gas and many other food items. Additionally, some complained that the Value Added Tax (VAT) should come into effect sometime soon and this will cause the cost of food items to soar. Many were quick to point out that the cost of everything was going up but salaries were stagnant making it difficult for them to ‘effectively cope’ with the rising cost of living. One citizen in particular thought that the increase in bus fare at this time - when the cost of living is already so high “…is absolutely ridiculous”. She said that “…things are not only tough for bus drivers, things are tough for all of us…do they think that things are tough for them but easy for us?” The idea of getting secondary school children to pay the adult bus fare is again a bitter pill in the mouths of many parents/guardians, who are struggling to make ends meet as it is, much less to get ‘additional’ money to pay the bus fares of their children attending secondary school. Carrying a bus load of students may not be a very profitable proposition for a bus owner, but bus drivers need to also recognize the fact that times are very difficult for everyone, and ‘forcing’ secondary school children to pay more money, can bring into reality many negative ‘unintended consequences.’ This writer wishes to advise all parties to weigh the situation very carefully, look at the overall picture and consider very prudently the sort of ramifications that certain actions may have on the future well-being of the country.