The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union (BTCU) yesterday threatened to launch its own “Battle for Atlantis” over the mega resort’s efforts to prevent drivers from “clogging” the Coral Towers entrance.

Wesley Ferguson, the union’s president, told Tribune Business that his members are “not having it in 2024” as he asserted that Atlantis’ track record of having “lost all” previous confrontations with the taxi drivers will continue.

“It seems as if all they want to do is re-group and come back at it at a different angle, but whatever angle Atlantis chooses to come with, the BTCU is not having it in 2024,” he charged. “Because in this day and time it is barbaric when you are going to inconvenience tourists who come from the cruise ship.

“You opened the hotel as a tourist attraction. You opened it up so, when you opened it up, you opened it up for anybody who wants to see it to come and see it.”

However, Vaughn Roberts, Atlantis’ senior vice-president of government affairs and special projects, told Tribune Business the resort is merely trying to clean up a disorganised and chaotic taxi system.

Refuting Mr Ferguson’s allegations, Mr Roberts added that Atlantis is “not blocking taxis” from entering its grounds. He explained: “We’re not trying to put taxis off of the property. It’s important for our guests to come by taxi to the resort, so that’s not the issue.

“The issue really is that there are taxi operators that are operating from the cruise port that are bringing cruise guests for tours, and some of them are unlicensed. They are bringing guests from around the island for tours featuring Atlantis, and they are basically clogging up the entrance and we’re just trying to organise it in an efficient way.”

Mr Ferguson, though, hinted at the prospect of action by the taxi drivers as he said they do not need to wait until Parliament convenes or any special day to block entrances to Atlantis or the Paradise Island Bridge.

“You can have your boundaries where you say that if you are not a guest of the hotel, you only can go a certain way. We understand that and we have been living with that from time immemorial,” Mr Ferguson said.

The maximum number of taxis allowed outside any Atlantis entrance is five, but there is a call-up system and station where taxi drivers can park and wait to be summoned. Mr Roberts added: “We have a taxi holding area and we deploy a call-up system, similar to what the other resorts and the airports do.

“The call-up system is not the issue. The issue is that taxis are just coming to the resort with guests from the cruise port. They are not taxis domiciled at Atlantis, but are people bringing guests from the cruise port to tour Atlantis.”

But Mr Ferguson retorted: “You just can’t tell taxi drivers that everybody else can go in but taxi drivers can’t? We see that as a personal attack.” He said the union has already reported the situation to Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, asking him to intervene and request that Atlantis “desists and stands down”.

“We are going to launch an attack on Atlantis in the magnitude they have never seen. They had Battle for Atlantis. Well, this will be the Battle against Atlantis. I will call every taxi and we will shut down the port and Atlantis the same time,” Mr Ferguson said.

This, he suggested, would see all taxi drivers leave the cruise port and come to Atlantis to create a blockade some time before the end of January unless the matter is resolved. “We will block the bridge, Atlantis or whatever. Nobody move, nobody get hurt,” Mr Ferguson charged.

More than 200 taxi drivers are said to be stationed at the cruise port and 70 at Atlantis. “Unfortunately, I’m travelling next week. I already met with the taxi drivers and they are on high alert,” Mr Ferguson said.

“They are just waiting for me to say the word ‘go’, and I told them that I am going to be off, so let’s see if Atlantis will catch their head between now and next week. But come the third week of this month, if Atlantis doesn’t stand down, we’re going to launch a surprise attack on Atlantis on a very busy day.”