Yellow Band maxi drivers raise fares

Short drops out of Port-of-Spain are also going up by a dollar; from $3 to $4, however there will be no price increase for short drops within Diego Martin, Petit Valley, Carenage and Maraval.

Short drops within these four areas will remain at three dollars. President of the Route One Maxi Taxi Association Eon Hewitt, told Newsday the association held off on a price increase for the past eight years.

“We have been holding strain since 2008 while everything has gone up...tyres, batteries, brakes, fuel, insurance, everything has gone up over the years but we at Route One have held back until now because we are aware that our customers face the same increased cost of living,” Hewitt said.

But Yellow Band maxi-taxi drivers can no longer afford to fully absorb these costs.

They therefore voted in early January on which of three fare increases made the most sense for them and for their customers.

Hewitt explained that voting was open to all members, “from 8 am to 4 pm that day and the majority voted in favour of the $1.00 fare increase.

We kept the short drops within Diego Martin, Petit Valley, Carenage and Maraval the same because we know people trying to move around within the communities, children travelling to school.” Hewitt expressed hope that Yellow Band customers “would understand why this price increase was necessary.”