St Thomas cabbies support rejection of 15% fare increase

Taxi operators in St Thomas are standing in solidarity with the National Council of Taxi Associations (NCOTA) in its rejection of the Government's 15% fare increase.

The announcement was made on Friday and the new rates took effect today.

Operators argued that the 15% increase is insufficient.

Speaking with The Gleaner, president of the St Thomas Taxi Association, Louis Milwood, said a counter application for a better rate hike has been submitted to the Government.

“The least we are looking for is 25 or 30%. The last time we got a raise was in 2013 and count how many times gas and motor vehicle parts have raised since then,” Milwood lamented.

“It's not that we are trying to undermine the public, we're just looking out for something just to move on. What we are asking for can't even break even because the price of gas is very expensive and every week it go up and when it rising it rises by the dollars and when it a drop it is by cents,” he said.

Milwood said operators will withdraw their services if a response to the counter application is not received in short order.

In the meantime, operators are calling for the Government to address deficiencies in the transport system in the parish.  

One operator cited the issue of inadequate routes.

“The [route] sheet weh dem send out needs a lot of reviewing because me see routes on it that people nuh run like Aelous Valley to Albion. Nobody not running that route so a two taxis you have to take to reach from Albion to Aleous Valley,” shared the operator who plies the Yallahs to Lloyds route.

“Another thing is a nuff routes weh we run mi nuh see on the sheet. Revision is needed for the routes because they don't consider the turnoffs. There are a lot of communities that don't have an official route like Swamp and Logwood so is like those communities don't exist based on what we are seeing.

“This makes me realise that a lot of taxis a run contrary to their route and that mean we a breach… but is the system's fault. When you going to put Aelous Valley to Morant Bay as a route… nobody not travelling from that point to that point on a regular so that's why we end up with so many unofficial taxi stand because the man dem have to be creating them own route based on how passengers travel.”

The operator is calling for the Government to undertake consultation with key stakeholders.

- Shanna kaye Monteith

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