Operators assisted

By JACINTA DOKTA
PUBLIC motor vehicle (PMV) operators in Western Highlands will pay only half of the fee to register their buses and trucks, says Western Highlands Governor Wai Rapa.
Rapa said an arrangement had been made with the Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited (MVIL) to pay 50 per cent of the registration fee for public transport in the province.
It costs around K3,900 to register a 25-seater bus, K1,500 to register a 15-seater bus and K4,000 to register a truck. Rapa said the provincial government would pay half of the registration fees to assist the bus and truck owners.
“Poor PMV owners have suffered from the high fuel prices and they need our help and support,” he said.
The governor explained that regardless of political affiliations, the subsidy to public transport owners will not discriminate against anyone.
“This policy is for every Western Highlander who owns and operates PMVs and is serious in running a PMV business in the province,” Rapa said.
He invited PMV owners in the province to attend a meeting at Mara Haus in Mt Hagen last Friday for further discussions.
Micheal Pati, a public transport operator in Mt Hagen, said the initiative by the Governor would help alleviate their burden.
Pati said registering a bus was costly.
“But now with the help received from the governor, it will help us and the public in terms of transport efficiency,” he said.