Weekly Georgetown to Lethem mini-bus service to be launched next week
By Miranda La Rose
A new company, Frontier Tours is initiating a weekly mini-bus service from Georgetown to Lethem to transport visitors to the hinterland region as well as Region Nine residents who want to travel to the city. Co-owner of Frontier Tours, Mahesh Ramdeo on Tuesday told Stabroek News that he and his wife Narisha Khan-Ramdeo, a co-owner in the venture, decided to operate the service because of the need for a reliable and cheaper means of transportation to and from the area. A return trip to and from Lethem is $10,000 compared to an aircraft fare of $28,000. The business has already made three trips, the first during the Easter holidays and the second with a number of Brickdam Secondary students. The students who left on May 1 and returned on May 4 were taken on a tour of the Iwokrama Rainforest project. The third was actually the first passenger trip, Ramdeo said, noting that the bus left Georgetown on May 7 and returned on May 14. Frontier Tours has also planned a trip during Independence Week. The bus will depart next Thursday and return on Monday. The office is located at 7 Happy Acres, East Coast Demerara and can be reached on telephone numbers 02- 50488 or 020 - 308 and fax 020-3336. Ramdeo, a civil engineer who runs his own consultancy - Feracon Engineering Services and Project Management Firm - is also attached to the Guyana Water Authority as a project manager. He has also been running a trucking service since 1997. The driver of the mini-bus Eugene Swammy, he said, has over 10 years experience in driving through the trail as well as throughout the country. A relief driver/mechanic who has driving experience mainly in the hinterland region accompanies the driver. A mechanic, Ramdeo assured, will always be on the bus "because you never know what will happen when you are a long way from civilisation." Giving a background to the start of the service, Ramdeo said that last February he travelled to the Rupununi through the trail in a four wheel drive pick-up and "thoroughly enjoyed" it, he said. On the return trip, he said, he found there were many people who wanted to come out of the hinterland but could not afford the expense of air travel. On that trip he brought out four persons for a small fee. On that trip too, Ramdeo said, he saw young women climbing into cargo trucks and facing the risk of sitting on the edge of the trucks and enduring the travel to the city over two days or a day and a half just to get out of the hinterland. He recalled, too, an instance when a mother with a very young child had to travel with a baby in one hand while holding on to the side of the truck with the other. He said that he felt he had to do something about it because it was not a scene he could easily forget. The transportation company was named Frontier Tours because the destination is the border township of Lethem. The four-wheel drive, 18-seater mini-bus was designed for the rough terrain. In recent weeks it has had to cross three streams where bridges have been washed away, including the bridges at Camoudi Hill, Tiger Hill and `Eiker' or `Ikor' Hill. The mini-bus has bucket type seats for long journeys and to cushion bumpy rides. Ramdeo said that they were taken off a British Tour bus. While the company is initiating a weekly service, the objective, he said, is to increase the service based on demand. With a focus on eco-tourism, the company hopes to provide a five-day tour which will include stops on one of the islands in the Essequibo River at Kurupukari. The area is very scenic with crystal clear water and a natural pool surrounded by rocks. A short distance away is the Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve. The journey would continue through Annai to Lethem. Ramdeo said that apart from regular passengers, the service would target scouting troops, youth groups and environmental clubs whose members are interested in wildlife, nature studies, hiking and adventure in the Kanuku Mountain. They must remember, he said, that the route is not paved and smooth nor are there five-star hotels along the way. A regular passenger run would leave Georgetown at 6 pm and arrive between 3 pm to 4 pm next the afternoon during rainy weather with stops along the 400-mile trail whilst in the dry season the journey should be shorter lasting between 15 to 18 hours. He said that the company has not been given permission to use the Demerara Timbers Limited trail which is a short cut.
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