The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union's (BTCU) president says drivers are just waiting on an announcement from the Ministry of Transport and Housing to make their 10 percent fare increase official.

Wesley Ferguson told Tribune Business: “We are just waiting for the minister (of transport and housing, Jo-Beth Coleby-Davis) to announce the rate increase. Taxi drivers are making a good living, I’m not going to lie to you. Most of them are doing pretty good. All of this happened when she gave out too many taxi plates and we reacted and said to give us a raise, and we said we will go with it. We agreed at 10 percent on the current rate.”

He added that the new Nassau Cruise Port system has taxi drivers “moving along steadily" through an improved experience compared to what was there before. "We are ready to move on to the airport. We’re trying to negotiate a better system at the airport, and basically they want the same thing we have at the Nassau Cruise Port,” Mr Ferguson said.

Nassau Cruise Port has implemented a call-up system where taxi drivers wait in a holding area and passengers come to them, rather than taxi drivers hustling visitors for business as they exit the ship. Cruise passengers can walk up to the holding area and request a taxi. “Taxi drivers are making more money this way and it is spread around more evenly now,” Mr Ferguson said.

He added that the Road Traffic Department has been seeking to address some of the so-called 'rogue' drivers who received plates in July 2022. Mr Ferguson said there were only supposed to be 200 plates issued when the moratorium was lifted, but it ended up being well over 500 plates.

The union chief said non-conforming drivers are being weeded out and made to take the necessary courses to ensure they comply with Bahama Host and other Road Traffic Department-related protocols for taxi drivers. “It’s been a process, but the clean-up is moving along well. They are doing what they can after what happened,” Mr Ferguson said.