The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

The Government has agreed “in principle” to a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the nation’s taxi drivers, which will allow the industry to be owned and controlled entirely by franchise holders and potentially enable it to access $250 million in funding.

Richard Johnson, the Public Service Drivers Union’s president, said yesterday that the Heads of Agreement would allow it and the other taxi unions to be responsible for transportations services from Prince George Dock, the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and the hotels.

And he added that the agreement would establish a minimum value of $100,000 for each taxi franchise.

These three concessions, as part of the Heads of Agreement, hinge on the results of a franchise valuation exercise being carried out by accounting firm, Deloitte and Touche, which is expected to be completed in 60 days.

Following this, Mr Johnson said the union “will hope to finalise the HOA” with the Government.

“We should be in change,” he added, explaining that a lack of understanding on the Government’s part has been holding back progress on the HOA for nearly two decades.

“We’ve have, over the last 18 years, been trying to get successive governments to understand the role that ground transportation plays in our economy,” he said, “with respect to our number one industry - tourism.

“If we can get the Government to give us this concession, we believe that we can access funding that would really make us a player in the economy of our country.”

That funding, Mr Johnson said, could come from international agencies who are willing to lend their support, as well as an agreement from the Clearing Banks Association for funding once the valuation has been established and the Government has agreed.

That, Mr Johnson agreed, is one of the major benefits of a successful HOA - the taxi drivers will have full control of the industry and will be able to secure funding.

“We would be able to purchase vehicles in fleets,” he said. “We would know who’s coming into the business, be able to do training and really organise the business into more of a corporation structure. Similar to what, I think, the Government is trying to do with the bus drivers.”

Some 2,500 taxi franchises in the Bahamas will thus be able to approach lending institutions with a “united” front if the HOA is agreed, Mr Johnson explained.

“With the minimum of $100,000 value on the franchise, you’re looking at $250 million in funding that could be accessed,” he said.

“Given the state of the world economy and how the trade among countries is going to be conducted, we believe that the individual cannot compete.

“So what we want to do, should we get this HOA from the Government, we will pool our resources and be able to deal with the coming changes in the world economy and make us a little bit more competitive in tourism.”

That $100,000 per franchise figure is based on the number of years a franchise holder would have been in the ground transportation business, he explained.

“Also,” Mr Johnson said, “the value of the business in terms of the years that the particular franchise holder would have been operating. And, of course, how it relates to the GDP. Our analysis has found... there is some $200 million a year that can be made from the ground transportation business.”