Court challenge

Government could soon be facing a lawsuit from some public service vehicle (PSV) owners.

Barbados TODAY investigations have revealed that a group of owners is considering taking Government to court over its decision to grant several concessions to PSV operators who joined the recently rolled out Transport Augmentation Programme (TAP).

The disgruntled owners are upset they were not offered similar incentives by Government, despite repeated lobbying for almost two decades.

Participants in the TAP programme are reportedly being allowed to pay their permit fee over a 12-month period, instead of the usual one-time payment.

Permit fee for minibuses is $12 000, while for route taxis (ZRs) it is $7000.

Additionally, a $1000 fee charged to register a vehicle as a PSV has been waived.

The main bone of contention however, is the decision to allow them to purchase duty-free vehicles.

The main bone of contention however, is the decision to allow them to purchase duty-free vehicles.

The group of PSV owners has engaged the services of an attorney-at-law to determine if they have a strong enough case.

One source told Barbados TODAY it was unfair Government was willing to offer those PSV owners duty-free vehicles, when that offer was not extended to them during initial conversations about joining the TAP programme.

Furthermore, the source said they had been asking Government to grant them duty-free concessions on vehicles for 20 years, to no avail.

“So how is it that these new players in the business, because some of them now have to go and purchase vehicles, how is it that Government can allow them to bring in duty-free vehicles?

“PSV owners have been asking Government for duty-free vehicles for the longest time and even though this particular Government hasn’t been in office for the whole time, it is not fair that some of these guys will be able to bring in duty-free vehicles and we are still here battling with our old vans,” the source complained.

The source contended that all PSV operators were critical to the island’s transport sector and should not be disadvantaged.

Furthermore, the source pointed out that taxis and ZM owners were already allowed to purchase duty-free vehicles, which meant they would be the only ones in the transport sector exempted from doing so.

The source said PSV owners had also previously asked for the $1000 transfer fee to be waived, but that has also not been granted.

The source said they were also required to pay the road tax in one lump sum.

And while he admitted PSV owners had never asked to be able to pay it on a monthly basis, he claimed Government was giving the new players an unfair advantage.

“Some PSV owners have been in this industry for over 15 years and have gotten little to no benefits from Government.

“It can’t be fair for these new players to sign onto a programme and just because it is a Government initiative they are going to get all of the perks. What about the PSV owners who have been providing invaluable service transporting Barbadians for the past 20 years? What is happening to us isn’t fair at all,” he complained.

TAP was initially conceptualized to supplement the Transport Board’s diminishing fleet.

Back in April, Prime Minister Mia Mottley explained that the programme would see public service vehicles (PSVs) integrating with the Transport Board in an effort to help move commuters.

However, some PSV owners have chosen not to sign onto the programme.

They claimed that some of the terms and conditions of the programme, such as Government’s requirement of them to pay 12.5 per cent of gross revenue were “particularly onerous”.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb