Route 1 & 2 maxi taxis may raise fares next month

The Route 2 Maxi Taxi Association said it will be raising fares in September, while the Route 1 Maxi Taxi Association said the idea is being discussed by its members. The associations said the increased amount has not yet been decided on.

Route 2 president Linus Phillip said the association was working on making adjustments to its fares and the public would be informed once a decision was reached. He said they hoped the public would understand why this needed to be done.

“We’re businessmen like everyone else, and recently the business association came out and said to expect increases in things, especially freight. Now we have to buy brakes, parts and oil from these same men, and our operating costs and expenditure have gone up tremendously because of that and our carrying capacity and our income have decreased. We’ve been trying to hold on for about 19 months, and most of the owners and operators have gone through their savings trying to hold on.

“We’re basically at a breaking point for most of us now, so it’s either we do some sort of adjustment with the fare or we go bust.

"Some of these fellas might end up losing their maxi, that’s the situation we’re in right now. It’s not that we’re looking to recover all our losses, we’re trying to keep our heads above water, because we know we’re in a pandemic and we know what’s going on, so we’re trying to keep our heads above water with this adjustment in the fares. It’s either that or we drown.”

He said he understood that people are saying that everything has gone up except salaries, but the owners and operators were also feeling the pressure.

“Two weeks ago weeks I went to buy four tyres for the back of my bus, because if I don’t change it the police will charge me for running smooth tyres. When I went the guy told me it went up by $250 for one tyre, so a tyre went from $750 to $1,000 and I have to buy four for the back of my vehicle, so that’s the kinds of expenses we’re getting. Disc pads gone up, brakes gone up, and the guy is telling me that the cost of freight has gone up by 200 per cent, and I checked it and he wasn’t lying, so some of the increases we are seeing also.”

Phillip said he knew some commuters would be hit hard by the increase.

“Anything you do people will get affected, but we cannot adjust or do things to suit every single individual and even with this adjustment we know some of the drivers might still lose their vehicles because it still might not take them out of the hole they’re in.”

Route 1 president Eon Hewitt said the idea of raising the fares had been raised with the members via the group’s WhatsApp chat since they could not hold meetings. He said they were awaiting responses from members on whether the fares should be raised, as well as what the new fare should be. He said this would take some time.

“We’re waiting to see if the members will agree. People are giving different scenarios, but with the increase in oil, diesel went up three times, we are under the gun, these things going up and we’re carrying less, we understand the reason for carrying less, but we can’t continue like this.”

He said commuters would be given time to adjust to the increase, and he was expecting a negative response to the announcement.

“We know the people working in the retail stores are coming back out and they would need a little room to settle down, so we have to take these things into account, we don’t carry high-end people.

“Everyone reacts to an increase once it’s transport. I didn’t see anybody say anything when KFC went up, there were long lines of people and KFC still going on, so if you could pay more for chicken and you don’t want to pay when your life is concerned, something wrong. You don’t want no madman driving you, you know.”

Route 1 maxi taxis run from Port of Spain to Carenage, Diego Martin and Petit Valley and other communities in the west. Route 2 maxi taxis run along the Priority Bus Route and the Eastern Main Road from Port of Spain to La Horquetta, Arima, Maloney, Sangre Grande and other communities along the east-west corridor.