Fare hike war heats up between north-south maxi, taxi drivers

NORTH-South 25-seater maxi taxis have been given a separate stand in San Fernando, away from the taxi drivers, after a hike in fares because of the covid19 pandemic threatened their peaceful co-existence.

San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello, the police and traffic management had to restore calm on Wednesday morning, after a confrontation between north-south maxi taxis and taxi drivers

They faced off over space and a fare hike on Tuesday. Taxi drivers reportedly blocked the drivers of the 25-seater maxi taxis, accusing the big maxi drivers of encroaching on their space at King’s Wharf and stealing their passengers.

However, maxi taxi drivers said the crux of the matter was the fares, and that the taxi drivers saw them as a threat to their earnings, as more passengers were opting to travel on the maxis.

Since the measures to flatten the covid19 curve, and the reduction in the number of passengers, north-south drivers increased their fares from $17 to $22 one way. But maxi taxis kept their $12 fare.

Regrello confirmed he was approached by the north-south drivers, who said the big maxis were creating problems for them, while the maxi-taxi drivers countered that the spot where the taxis were plying their trade was originally for maxis.

After discussions with the police and traffic management on Tuesday evening, the maxi taxis were assigned a spot on Lower High Street.

Regrello was there on Wednesday morning to ensure the situation was workable.

“Taxi drivers are satisfied with the arrangement. You have to understand taxis are under a lot of strain in terms of the social distancing and they increased the price to compensate or balance off the business side of the arrangement,” Regrello told the media.

“If the maxis are much cheaper, obviously the people would respond to the maxis, so you could not have both of them operating in the same space. That is why we had to move them and put them here. I think this is workable and I think we have been able to provide a win/win situation.”

He said no time limit has been given and the plan would be reviewed if necessary. He said he did not anticipate a problem as the area was wide and could accommodate several lanes of traffic.

“This area on Lower High Street is now the central hub for travelling. We had to move most of the traffic from Library Corner, which has seven streets joining in one spot, creating a nightmare for us. That is why we need to spread it out somewhat. “

Vishnu Maharaj, representing the big maxi drivers, said about ten drivers have shown an interest in plying the north-south route, but there is space for only six maxis at a time. The surplus of maxis would "hover" on Kings Wharf until a space becomes available, he said.

“We run on a turn system: who comes first will get serviced first. You can’t come tenth and want to full first. You full as you come. “

Maharaj said the drivers were happy for the intervention of the mayor and were willing to make the situation work.

He said passengers will have to adhere to the covid19 rules on hand sanitising and wearing masks in the maxis