Transit Industry Leader Roy Raphael Warns Taxi Drivers Risk Going Out of Business Without System Reforms, Voices Concerns Amid Festivals

Taxi drivers risk going out of business unless the authorities reform the current system, transit industry leader Roy Raphael has warned, expressing fears of not cashing in on the demand for rides as festivals loom.

Raphael, the chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), raised the alarm on Thursday in an interview with Barbados TODAY. He contended that the decades-old system of waiting at taxi stands to get business is no longer working.

During a site visit to taxi parking lots in Bridgetown, drivers expressed fears that they will not benefit in any meaningful way from the influx of visitors coming for the T20 Cricket World Cup at Kensington Oval, he said.

“Today, I took the opportunity to walk through Bridgetown to get a feel of how the men are feeling about the whole question of the ICC [International Cricket Council], and to hear from them first-hand, how the traffic changes will have an effect on them,” he told Barbados TODAY. “And some of the concerns raised by them are one, that they don’t feel part of the World Cup; they are not feeling it, because they were not included in the plan.”

Raphael also said he raised the issue of a taxi stand near Kensington and told the drivers he was waiting on the national organising committee to get back to the association. But he noted parking is a broader concern, including for the Crop Over events held at the Oval.

Those operators not participating in the park-and-ride service to and from the Oval are puzzled about how to capitalise on the business, Raphael said, noting some may not be allowed to pick up passengers from outside the stadium.

He stressed that if the association had been included in the early planning stages, the questions being asked now could have been addressed already.

Raphael also urged airport authorities to discuss arrangements with the association to avoid issues faced during the last Cricket World Cup held here, when taxis not based at the Grantley Adams International Airport could only drop off but not pick up passengers despite excess demand.

While hoping operators could assist with transport for events like the Oistins festivities during the tournament, Raphael advised them to act in an orderly manner and encouraged them to register an interest in participating.

Crucially, the transport service leader called on the government to review the current system where drivers wait at parking lots for business, in an era when people can no longer readily get taxis after late events.

He proposed establishing taxi stands as close to bus terminals as possible, citing the successful arrangement on Fairchild Street next to a major terminal.

“Bridgetown needs to be revitalised if we are to go any further,” Raphael insisted. “We are looking at a 50-year-old taxi plan where persons used to ply in Bridgetown. With the number of cars, some businesses moved out of Bridgetown, and a number of persons not interested in catching taxi because of the increase in the tariff, many men will tell you that many days they go there and they can’t make $100, some can’t even make $10.

“So the whole question of taxiing in Barbados needs to be revisited. It can no longer be the old time system where you go into Bridgetown and you park waiting for a job.”

Raphael disclosed that his association has proposed a Terminal Taxi Initiative to the Ministry of Transport, with taxi stands operating next to terminals, including in other towns.

“If after six o’clock in the evening when people can’t get a public service vehicle from the River Terminal and they have to walk all down Broad Street for a taxi, they are not going to do it,” he said.

“So, the whole question of taxiing going forward has to be discussed, if not, those guys operating taxis will soon go out of business.”

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb