The newly imposed taxi rates have sparked much debate over whether it’s the right move in tough economic times. Such is the price of taking more than a decade to do right by those who labour to provide an important service.
But there will hardly be a time when the majority will readily accept having to pay more for any service and product. We can identify with the needs of taxi drivers to provide for their families. But it is the passengers – citizen and tourist alike – who now have to contend with a price increase that would otherwise elicit roars of national outrage were they appended to utility bills and groceries.
The new rates, which took effect last Saturday have doubled in most instances. A taxi ride from the Grantley Adams International Airport to the popular attraction, Harrison’s Cave, will now cost $108, up from $53. A trip to the Animal Flower Cave in St Lucy will cost $179. From the airport to Gibbs, St Peter, the fare jumps from $64 to $138 while a ride to Belleplaine, St Andrew moves from $64 to $129.
There’s no mistaking that 15 years is a long time for taxi operators to wait for a fare increase by any measuring stick.
While it’s pointless to share blame on who was responsible for this grave oversight, one of the lessons to be learned from all this must be that such issues should not be left to chance or be ignored.
Taxi operators for the most part are relieved and hardly can they be faulted.
“We deserved this rate increase,” said Andrew McCaskie, who has been in the taxi business for 32 years. “This has been 15 years and so many things have gone up. Gas gone up, road tax, the price of parts and the roads have gotten worse. Why are so many people stressing so much about this increase? Taxi men ain’t deserve nothing?”
Raul Alleyne, who has been a taxi operator for 15 years, said: “Think about you working ten years in a job and not getting a pay increase. We got a pay increase, that is all we got. I want the public to see it as a pay increase and not a taxi [fare] hike. It is like every other job, like when the minimum wage went up.”
Fair positions, we submit.
The fact is all around, most are asking for better terms in their own circumstances to cope with the rising cost of living. Trade unions are negotiating for pay increases for public servants, small poultry farmers served notice at the weekend they cannot afford to be part of a second social compact to keep prices low for consumers and businesses likewise are skeptical about the compact because it’s hurting their bottom line. Isn’t it reasonable then that taxi operators get some relief after more than a decade?
On our social media channels, readers have generally supported the increase, though some have raised concern about the quantum of the hike given the high rate of inflation.
One public voice which has attracted some criticism and some support has been that of the President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association Renee Coppin.
While declaring her support for the rate hike for taxi operators, she has expressed concern that the higher fares could have implications for other players in the sector.
Coppin said: “We are obviously supportive of the taxi operators being given a fare increase. It’s something that we were aware was on the cards and, certainly, nobody can deny that with the increases in costs to the taxis over time, it is justified.
“Our concern is that this is something that we have flagged for some time that would need to be planned for, communicated and negotiated. It does not just impact the rates at the airport when visitors arrive; these rates impact our members who have contracts in place for transportation – seaport, airport, tours and hotel transfers which are included in holiday packages and are sold overseas by tour operators and travel agents.”
Coppin has attracted rebuff first from several industry players but surely, she, too, makes valid points. Striking the right balance should have been the priority. We hope industry players can discuss and agree on the best way forward to everyone’s benefit.
There’s no getting away from the possibility that the envisioned taxi fare hike could put more inflationary pressure on a local economy that is already saddled with soaring consumer prices. The new taxi rates may cause those on a tight budget to more reluctant to use taxi services and opt for other public transportation.
Taxi drivers have already declared angry opposition to the introduction of ride share services like Uber and Lyft. They may feel emboldened to do so, having seen off several attempts to introduce taxi metering over the last 40 years.
Yes, the price of everything is rising. But a cynic, as Oscar Wilde averred, sees only the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Most taxis here are mid-price and luxury vehicles with massive engines that guzzle petrol, unlike in many of the cities and towns whence tourists come. Such a critical component of our leading industry as transport deserves more intense, macro- and micro-economic analysis… just not for 15 years. For now we must contend with the price of dithering.
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