S.Grande/Arima taxi stand moved to danger zone

Commuters and taxi drivers, travelling between Sangre Grande and Arima, are calling on Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julian to put their taxi stand back to its original place.

Commuters, on Saturday, expressed outrage to a move the mayor made which relocated the Sangre Grande taxi stand from Broadway, near the dial, to Prince Street, Arima.

When Newsday spoke to a passenger, who only gave her name as Shelly and who was waiting to board a Sangre Grande taxi on Saturday evening,she said the mayor was playing with the safety of lives.

“She (mayor) moved the taxi stand from its original place and relocated it on Prince Street. This is a place where it gets very lonely after 5.30 pm on evenings. If you take a maxi from Port-of-Spain and they drop you off on Woodford Street, you now have to walk all the way up to Prince Street and it is not safe at nights going in that direction. Secondly, if rain fall there is no where to shelter or any bathroom facilities close by. ”

Shelly said the move was made by the mayor to “free up” the Borough and alleviate the traffic congestion.

Another commuter, who did not want to be identified, said the mayor has failed the people of Arima and should find a better place for the taxi stand.

When Newsday spoke to some taxi drivers, they all shared the same sentiments. They said the taxi stand’s move to Prince Street is not safe for either commuters or themselves.

One taxi driver,identified as Mr Williams, said the move of the taxi stand negatively impacted the flow of his daily trips.