Wau Waria MP Marsh Narewec has called on the Morobe Land Transport Administration to regulate hire car fares and formally establish public motor vehicle (PMV) routes on roads maintained by the Government and the district.
Mr. Narewec, who chairs the Wau Waria District Development Authority, said motorists and passengers using Kaindi Road and the Northern Highway were facing excessive transport charges despite millions of kina being spent on road maintenance.
Related news: https://www.nbc.com.pg/post/41151/call-to-regulate-hire-car-rates
“Government has been spending millions of Kina doing maintenance work on Kaindi Road and the Northern Highway.”
“Unfortunately, the majority of our road users, who this service is meant for, are suffering under exorbitant fees charged by the fast- money mentality of hire car operators,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, 13 October.
He urged the Morobe Land Transport Administration to visit Wau Waria, regulate hire car operators and declare PMV routes along roads constructed and maintained by the district.
“I call on the Morobe Land Transport Administration to get its act together and regulate this sector. I also call on them to come to Wau Waria and declare PMV routes on the roads we have constructed and maintained,” Mr. Narewec said.
He also appealed to local businesspeople to invest in public transport by purchasing four-wheel-drive PMV vehicles to provide affordable transport while generating income.
“I appeal to the aspiring businessmen and women of Wau Waria to reinvest their wealth into buying four-by-four PMV Dynas. These vehicles can earn them an income while also serving their communities, rather than being spent on luxury vehicles such as Land Cruisers,” he said.
Mr. Narewec called for standardized hire car fares across the district, including on the Lae–Wau, Wau–Kaindi and Northern Highway routes.
“There should be a standard rate for hire cars between Lae and Wau, Wau and Kaindi, and on the Northern Highway,” he said.
He said high transport costs were placing additional pressure on residents who depended on selling garden produce at local markets for their livelihoods.
“The majority of our people survive on the small income they make from their market. Our public servants too cannot meet these exorbitant fees. Not everyone in Wau Waria is a small-scale miner,” he said.
Mr. Narewec said regulating fares and establishing PMV routes would help improve public transport access for communities in Wau Waria.