Tendai Franklyn-Brown, Staff Reporter
Residents in St Thomas will face higher transportation costs as retailers, hamstrung by the downed Hope River bridge, will have to find much longer alternative routes to reach service stations.
Though a Bailey bridge was installed earlier this week, only cars and sport utility vehicles have been allowed to use it. The original bridge collapsed last week under pressure from rising flood waters triggered by Tropical Storm Gustav.
Authorities also plan to construct a ford in the Hope River to accommodate heavier vehicles.
Marcel Clarke, general manager of the Texaco service station in Morant Bay, the St Thomas capital, told The Gleaner that several petrol outlets in the area have literally run out of gas since Monday.
Although some service stations sourced fuel farther away on the north coast - Ocho Rios, St Ann - Clarke said retailers would be forced to pass on the extra transportation costs to consumers.
"People just want normalcy, so I don't think too many customers would be upset about paying a little extra in gas to move around," he said.
"My insurance won't allow me to have a truck with gas use the ford at Harbour View, due to safety reasons, so Ocho Rios, although costly, is the next best option. Right now, I'd do anything to get some products," he said.
Consumers to foot bill
Errol Edwards, president of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers' Association, confirmed that consumers will foot the bill for increased distribution costs.
"You have to base your margin on the cost of the product that you are getting," Edwards explained. "If it comes from a longer route, and the retailer has to pay more to get it, of course, that price will be transferred to the consumers," he said.
Pedestrians were allowed to across the bridge on Tuesday, and drivers of light vehicles on Wednesday, bringing sweet relief to thousands of residents starved of critical health services and food.
Cars, buses and small vans crossed the temporary suspension with supplies for the first time since Gustav's gusty winds and torrential rains walloped Jamaica's east coast.
The Bailey bridge was a reprieve for supermarkets which were running low on flour, sugar, rice and meat, among other items. Some shops were out of stock.
Arthur James, a shopkeeper in Grants Pen, St Thomas, told The Gleaner on Wednesday that the bridge would, to some degree, restore distribution routes, boost clientele levels and resuscitate flagging business.
"Some people wouldn't travel through dirty water because it was rough," James said. "Now the bridge is up, I can get some supplies," he said.
tendai.franklyn-brown@gleanerjm.com
