The bus fares were officially yesterday. Passengers currently have to pay an additional SRD 2 for a bus ride through the city as the bus fare for a city ride went from SRD 12.50 to SRD 14.50. The bus fares for a bus ride on other routes were raised with at least SRD 6.

Monday the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Tourism announced that the bus fare hike would go into effect immediately. Henk Sacco, chairman of the National Youth and Student Organization Suriname, expressed shock in response to the bus fare hike. “This is not the right time for a hike. Parents, pupils and students are confronted with this hike out of the blue. Many people have a tight budget and will not be able to afford it,” said Sacco who added that people who have several children and who take several buses each day will be hit the hardest. Sacco pointed out that many students called him last Monday to explain that they would most likely have to drop out of school because of the bus fare hike.

Rawien Bainath, spokesman for the Private Bus Owners’ Organization, explained that the bus fares were officially set on Monday morning and that the bus owners had been waiting for new fares since 2021.