By Omar Bah
The Gambia Ferry Service (GFS) has announced the extension of service between Banjul and Barra crossing point to midnight to accommodate for travellers arriving late from Dakar, Senegal.
“We have seen the need to extend the time because a lot of passengers experience difficulties once they have a delay coming from Dakar,” GFS general manager Lamin Jawara told The Standard.
Mr Jawara said his office is also working on carrying out a trial for hourly departures to avoid challenges triggered by the unreliability of traffic flow between Banjul-Barra.
“We have also created a ferries app were customers can receive all information about the ferries scheduleS and tariffs. We will also launch a new ticketing system where travellers will buy tickets and receive a QR code in their smart phones or text messages for those who don’t have smart phones. The code will be scanned by the controllers for authentication,” Mr Jawara
Maintenance
He revealed that work has been completed on the Kunta Kinteh and Johé ferries while work is expected to start on the Kanilai ferry soon.
“There was an overhaul on the Kunta Kinteh from changing the three engines to welding and painting and it covers Banjul-Barra in 20 or so minutes,” he said.
He said the caterpillar engines installed on Kunta Kinteh and Johé “are very durable” though expensive.
Jawara said D35 million was spent on the maintenance of Johé, Kanilai, Kunta Kinteh and the Barajally-Brikama Ba ferries.
