Education Ministry to pay maxi taxis

About 300 maxi taxi operators are expected to receive payments owed to them by the Ministry of Education for transporting students, before school reopens on Monday, according to the ministry.

On Thursday, the ministry handed over a cheque to the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) to facilitate the payments, a release said.

The PTSC is the organisation which contracts the operators who transport children to and from school on a daily basis.

The release quoted Education Minister Anthony Garcia as saying that the maxi taxi operators provide a critical service and expressed his gratitude for the patience they exercised, considering the prevailing stringent economic conditions.

The maxi taxi operators picketed the ministry days before Christmas Day.

When Garcia met the picketers, he promised them that every effort was being made to pay them as soon as possible.