Taximen displaced by preparations

Taxi operators who ply their trade from Heroes Square in The City are up in arms with Government for the manner in which they have been temporarily displaced to facilitate events related to the official transition to a Republican state.

A spokesman for the organisation which represents some of them is contending that Government could have at least properly prepare them for the move through consultations.

“I am getting some complaints from these fellows in Heroes Square…with this big activity happening, it is creating some issues in terms of their parking. They are disappointed that their representatives – they have more than one – were not contacted. They themselves were not contacted, they were just told by the police they can’t park there,” Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael told Barbados TODAY.

“We were very concerned too because they should have contacted the association because we have members that we represent to see if we can come to some kind of agreement, The taxi operators were suggesting they could park anywhere in town, but there are already too many taxis parking in Bridgetown,” Raphael reasoned.

“The taxi operators, especially those in Heroes Square are not happy with the parking arrangements for them at this stage,” he added.

The privately-run transport operators’ representative said while he appreciates the need to have a space to conduct the historic event, authorities should also have made some provision for these self-employed individuals to earn a living in these hard economic times.

“I think it is good that we are moving to a Republican state, but at the end of the day, we still have our bills to pay. Having a fellow not being able to park in Bridgetown and can no longer ply his trade will continue to create issues for him particularly at night. Sometimes at night might be the only times he might be able to make a dollar after 5 o’clock,” Raphael said.

On Tuesday, the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) issued a statement informing the public that starting Thursday and ending on December 2, a number of roads in Bridgetown would be closed to facilitate the event in Heroes Square for the Declaration of Barbados as a Parliamentary Republic and the installation of the President.

The statement said parking would also be prohibited along nine roads in and around Bridgetown including Constitution Road, Martindale’s Road, Fairchild Street and Marhill Street.

The police said the road closures would include Trafalgar Street, Broad Street from its junction with Prince William Henry Street to its junction with High Street.

Wharf Road and Charles Duncan O’Neal Bridge will also be shut off.

The Independence Day/Republic Day Parade will be held between 8 p.m. and midnight on Monday, November 29.

Meanwhile, Raphael wants to know why some taxi operators who had suffered losses due to Government’s COVID -19 lockdown have not received their promised financial assistance.

“Some of our members would have received, we would have presented some cheques to them in Heroes Square. We don’t know what is the position on this, but there are a number of taxi operators who did not benefit from the assistance programme from government,” he stated.

“We would have made a case to the Ministry of Commerce publicly; we have not heard anything from them. We are hoping we can get a response so that the taxi men who did not benefit could get something on their tables especially now that Christmas time is coming around,” Raphael said.

He recalled that some of the operators received payouts of between $500 and $1,000 as a result of representation made by the association.

“Most persons got assistance through the association, like the Bridgetown Taxis, the Airport Taxis, the Alliance Owners of Public Transport,” he said.

“During the COVID-19 lockdown Government had offered assistance to the taxi drivers, hairdressers and those small business operators because during this time a lot of people were not working and there was a fallout in terms of a number of people being able to access funding during that time,” Raphael explained.emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb