Three more stakeholders in the local transport sector are seeking answers from various Government departments about the rising cost of fuel.
Communications Officer of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Mark Haynes and President of the Independent Seaport Taxi Union Anthony Eastmond have called on the Government to review the current tariff structure as they struggle to keep their businesses afloat. President of Bridgetown Port Taxi Coop Adrian Bayley also revealed that he has written to Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Kerrie Symmonds on the matter.
In the meantime, a petition started by social media influencer Olujimi Clarke demanding a reduction in gas prices has already garnered almost 2 000 signatures ever since the price of gasoline increased by 12 cents to $3.99 per litre and diesel increased by four cents to $3.16 per litre.
“The cost of petrol products continues to be astronomical at the pump, not only for the PSV sector whose financial gains continue to dwindle owing to the fact that ridership continues to be at 75 per cent as we continue to be in conformity with the COVID-19 restrictions,” said Haynes, who has not ruled out AOPT’s participation in protest action on the matter.
“Additionally, taxis, drivers of regular vehicles and a whole section of the wider society are feeling this financial burden. The PSV sector is under enormous stress in an effort to survive as it grapples with other miscellaneous costs. This situation is not only unsustainable in this current environment, but most untenable and cannot continue unabated.
“I therefore call on the government of Barbados to move with alacrity to address this vexing and worrying situation by addressing the taxation policy in specific relation to gas products at the pump. There can be an adjustment in the Value Added Tax and the Excise
Tax respectively under this regime, thus providing an ease or to ameliorate the cost to the PSV sector and to all Barbadians by extension,” Haynes added.
In a separate interview, AOPT’s chairman Roy Raphael told Barbados TODAY the increased fuel prices, coupled with the continued decrease in permitted commuter numbers on PSVs under the COVID-19 protocols, have resulted in hardship on his membership.
“The 75 per cent [seating capacity] that we are dealing with at this stage since the country has opened back, we have seen a real decline in the number of passengers. We used to move at 80 per cent; we are now looking at anywhere between 60 and 65 per cent….
But it quite interesting to see that our gas bill would have jumped from $150 to over $400 to full a tank,” he said.
Raphael added that the fuel price increase was coming at a time when PSV operators are also battling rising insurance costs.
“It has hit us hard. Insurance continues to climb, although we have reached out to the insurance company over time to ask why is it that we have to pay as much as $22 000 a year because there is no justification to show that PSVs run off the road or cause an accident every day,” he said.
Meantime, Eastmond said many taxi operators are continuing to question the Government’s rationale for subjecting them to the exorbitant fuel taxes while continuing to charge an annual road tax.
He contended that the fallout is even more significant because of the ongoing pandemic and in light of the fact that the fare structure has not increased in over 10 years. In fact, he revealed that union leaders are currently studying the rates of inflation as they prepare to suggest new rates to the government.
“We need an increase. The last increase for taxis was in 2008. I don’t know how many times fuel went up between 2008 and 2021, but the last increase in taxi fares I can remember is 2008 and we are in 2021. So there needs to be an increase, don’t care how small it is,” Eastmond contended.
“We are still paying half of the road tax, so in order to make it more equitable for taxi operators in Barbados, we should be given the same leverage as the private cars seeing that we use more fuel than the private cars, but still we have to pay half of the permit and road tax in Barbados,” he added.
Meanwhile, the president of the Bridgetown Port Taxi Coop told Barbados TODAY that members’ concerns had been relayed to the relevant authorities and, in the meantime, he would refrain from “shouting” their concerns across the proverbial corridor.
“I have written to the Minister [of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship] Kerrie Symmonds, so I have no comment to make until the minister gets back to me with a position and if it is not a position that suits my organization, then I will speak,” Bayley explained.
“I would be out of place, after writing the Minister on the situation, to give an open comment to the media,” he added.
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb
