End of the small maxi-taxi?

MINISTER of Works and Transport, Franklin Khan, said the small 12-seater red band maxi-taxis plying the Priority Bus Route (PBR) will be phased out in favour of larger 25-seaters, to reduce congestion. He was addressing the TT Chamber of Commerce at a breakfast meeting yesterday at its Westmoorings headquarters. Calling the PBR our own version of a mass transit system, he said that over the years its carriage had shifted from buses to maxis. “There are 1,000 maxis that are licensed for the PBR. “In 1995 of the 1,000 maxis there were approximately 500 25-seaters and 500 12-seaters. Today there are 900 12-seaters and only 100 25-seaters”.

He said that over time most owners of 25-seaters had switched to 12-seaters, but this latter could not be regarded as a mass-transit system.  Coupled with this reduction in the capacity of maxis, was a reduction in the number of buses run by the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC).

Khan announced measures to optimise the use of the PBR. “Effective almost immediately we will no longer licence any new 12-seater maxis on the Priority Bus Route.” He said he would ask Cabinet to approve 200 additional PBR passes for 25 seater maxis instead. “We will go to Cabinet for tax relief for 25-seater maxis to bring the price just incrementally higher than a 12-seater, so there will be an attraction to procure a 25-seater instead of a 12-seater maxi.”

He said there would be a phased reduction of the 12-seaters, whose owners would be encourarged to convert to 25-seaters. “So by just administrative decree, you can substantially — at least 30 or 40 percent — increase the carrying capacity of the bus route.” Khan also said he would boost the PTSC fleet with 12 articulated or accordion-like buses on order from Brazil to arrive in May which can each take 110 passengers. The PTSC would also get in March or April some 25 normal buses, ordered from Mexico and China. He gave another measure to cut congestion on the PBR: “We cannot be trying to move people in peak rush hour traffic and between every maxi you are seeing five private vehicles clogging up the bus route.”

The PBR was now a status symbol, he lamented, with every friend of a friend of a friend wanting to get a bus pass. Apart from the permanent bus-route passes, he said his Ministry had in the past very leniently issued discretionary, temporary, one-year passes, but would now tighten up on issuing these because the PBR was supposed to be a mass transit system.

“The intent this year is to cut the number of private passes by half. We currently have approximately 800 passes, and that has to go to a maximum of 500.”  “We must free up the route, especially the people.” Newsday told Khan that the large maxis were slower than the small maxis, but he did not agree. Route Two Maxi Association president, Victor George, welcomed the move, saying he had called for it even before Khan had become Minister. The two had agreed on the move at a meeting two weeks ago.