The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Drivers yesterday asserted that the Road Traffic Department has been forced to suspend the issuance of new taxi plates because some have ended up “in the hands of hooligans”.

Chadson Gray, owner/ operator of SafeRide Transportation, complained to Tribune Business that legitimate operators such as himself have been neglected when it comes to new taxi plates as he branded the system “a big mess”.

“The roll-out was obviously not thought out, but it was a good idea. However, it appears as if cronyism is the order of the day, and now there are a bunch of complaints because of some of the hooligans that have gotten their hands on plates,” he charged.

COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions forced Mr Gray to sell his vehicles to survive until the taxi industry got back on the road. In need of new plates as a result, Mr Gray added: “I got a grant letter from the minister, went ahead, took the steps I was supposed to, and conducted my business above board. I got a number assigned to me, and got the Business License to reflect it because that’s the process.

“I went back there because there’s a delay in vehicles coming in, only to be told the process is suspended and the number I would have been assigned, even though it would have not exceeded the 90-day period, was not available because of this screw up.

“It’s a big mess out there. I have heard reports of people having forged grant letters. I saw some people, who weren’t even supposed to be in possession of public service badges, in possession of taxi plates right now.”

Calls to the Road Traffic Department seeking comment were unsuccessful yesterday. Antoinette Thompson, the Ministry of Transport and Housing’s permanent secretary, said she was unaware of any taxi plate suspension and needed to confirm whether or not this had occurred.

Taxi drivers have frequently been complaining about how now plates are being issued amid fears that it was storing up trouble for the industry’s governance. Wesley Ferguson, the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s president, said: “We haven’t begun to feel the full brunt of this yet. This has not come full circle yet.

“The minister has been forced to put everything on hold, and to regroup and reorganise things, because now they realise some taxi plates went out that weren’t supposed to go out. Taxi drivers got plates when they weren’t entitled to get any, and the Road Traffic Department still have not yet dealt with taxi plates in the ‘estate of’ yet. It’s a whole ball of mess because they did not listen to the union, and they did not seek guidance or consultation on how to mitigate this kind of fall out.”

The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union says its members are suffering due to “over-saturation” of the market from an excess of new plates and operators. A revenue-generating scheme the union itself had conceived is in jeopardy because it is disrupting the use of old plates for hires.

Mr Ferguson said: “This has a very negative effect on our union because September is here, and now the rooster has come home to roost. September is here with guys going home with no jobs for the whole day because the industry has become over saturated.

“With September to November being the slowest months of the year, it is going to have a catastrophic effect on the taxi industry because you have an additional 400 taxis out there that don’t necessarily need to be out there.”

The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union had welcomed the issuance of more taxi plates through the lifting of a years-long moratorium, and had originally requested 200 more. But the Ministry of Transport ended up issuing 600 taxi plates over the course of the past six months.