Membership of the association has increased because people are becoming really concerned.”Ī government spokeswoman said last night: “The Ministry of Transport is committed to advancing the Throne Speech initiative to modernise the public transportation system. We haven’t had an increase in nine years and we keep on getting told different things. “They are throwing the industry under a bus. “We are quickly losing patience and trust with this Government,” he said. Other problems included increases in fuel, repeated breakdowns caused by potholed roads, difficulties importing replacement vehicles and competition from new minibus operators. He said that the industry had suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ricky Tucker, the vice-president of the BTOA, listed a catalogue of grievances that owners and operators had suffered from in recent years. We pay our own health insurance, social insurance, pension, maintenance to vehicles, tyres and gas.” She said: “Unlike civil servants, our basket of goods is significantly higher as we don’t get the perks of government. The spokeswoman added that although the Government controlled what fees drivers could charge, it did not offer benefits enjoyed by government employees. It hasn’t been ten years for other departments.” They don’t want to give us anything because of what they are offering them. “We believe the Government is stalling because other government departments are looking for salary increases and the Government only wants to give them between 1.5 and 2 per cent. “Also, even if we were to get an increase, it is impossible to give us a retroactive pay. She said: “Whose budget does an increase come out of? We listened intently to the Budget and heard millions of dollars being allocated for this, that and the other, but nothing for us. The BTOA spokeswoman said that it would cost the Government nothing to authorise taxi drivers to increase their rates. We don’t know who to believe any more.”īut a Government spokeswoman was unable to offer a timeline on when a fare increase might come into effect, and warned that any changes had to benefit “all stakeholders, including the travelling public”. “We’ve had about ten meetings with two different transport ministers in the last year and we don’t seem to be getting anywhere. She said: “It’s as if the Government spent all that time on a Green Paper for the industry, and now it counts for nothing. Instead, the BTOA has been told by Wayne Furbert, who took over from Mr Scott last October, that a further review is required before any increase can be introduced.Ī spokeswoman for the BTOA said that at a meeting with Mr Furbert last week, representatives were told that although a Green Paper was presented to the Cabinet, it was rejected. In September, Lawrence Scott, the Transport Minister at the time, said that increases were in the pipeline once a review of the industry had been presented to Cabinet “in the next few weeks“.Īccording to the association, that increase had yet to be introduced, even though it could be done “with the flick of a pen”. The last increase was granted in May 2014. Last year the Bermuda Taxi Owners and Operators Association called for a 20 per cent rise in fare rates, which are set by the Government. Taxi drivers have accused the Government of stalling on plans to implement a rise in fares - almost nine years after the last fare increase. Struggling: taxi drivers have not been permitted to increase fare rates since 2014 (File photograph)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |