PRESIDENT of the Route 2 Maxi-Taxi Association Brenton Knights said the association heads are willing to work with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Transport Minister Eli Zakour to address some of the ‘low-hanging fruit’ issues facing the industry.
Last week Monday, thousands of commuters faced transportation woes as maxitaxi drivers from across Trinidad stayed away as part of a planned three-day ‘rest and reflection’ action.
The action was to bring light to a series of issues, including illegal competition from unlicensed ‘PH’ vehicles and white buses operating on routes reserved for maxi-taxis, a request to increase the speed limit for maxi-taxis from 65 km/h to 80 km/h, a need for clear rules on transferring public service vehicle licences in cases, upgrading and better management of maxi-taxi stands and transport hubs nationwide, outstanding payments owed to school transport operators, and better arrangements for NIS (National Insurance Scheme) contributions for self-employed maxitaxi operators.
The afternoon of the protests, association heads met with Zakour, the ministry’s permanent secretary, legal advisers and transport officials for nearly five hours to discuss their issues.
Knights, however, reported being dissatisfied with the meeting.
Zakour declined to comment on the meeting the following day during a visit to City Gate, Port of Spain, as the Police Service provided buses to assist commuters affected by the protest action.
On June 2, however, the second planned day of the protest, most maxi-taxis returned to the road and though the Route 2 association continued the protest, they later called it off, citing concerns over the impact on commuters.
Speaking on Wednesday in Parliament, Persad-Bissessar denied there was a nationwide shutdown and described the ‘vast majority of maxi-taxi operators’ as ‘decent, hard-working individuals’.
She also said her Government was committed to working with maxi-taxi operators to address their concerns.
‘PM set the tone’
In a telephone interview yesterday Knights said: ‘We are in a mood to work with the minister (Zakour) and the PM. We had a cordial and fruitful meeting yesterday. It seems to be heading in the right direction.
‘PM set the tone. We are pleased she gave a verbal commitment. We met with minister and he was optimistic. We are looking at the ‘low-lying fruit’ from an administrative point of view. We are looking at legislation for law enforcement.’
He added: ‘Minister said he would have a discussion with his Cabinet colleagues. Several issues were raised. He would have to take a note to Cabinet. He was looking at the legislation. A lot of work was put in during the hour-long meeting. We got a commitment.’
Knights also praised the Prime Minister’s statement on the issue in Parliament.
‘We liked her tone. She used soft words. She did not come out as aggressive. She labelled maxi-taxi drivers as ‘kind’ and ‘hardworking’ people. She said the large number of maxi-taxi men are hardworking. It spoke volumes. We have gotten comments in the past that were not so palatable,’ he said.
Asked about any future protests, Knights said: ‘We are in a cordial work mood. We have to do our part, also. We are not in protest mood.’
He also commented on the need for police patrols to safeguard maxi-taxi drivers.
‘We want the Police Commissioner (Allister Guevarro) to pay attention to us. We don’t want to get our heads locked. From time to time, there are robberies along the route,’ he said.
