“For the past eight years we have been under the gun. Any other adjustment to the fuel subsidy will bring great pressure to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, not just the travelling public.”
Those are the words of Adrian Acosta, head of the T&T Taxi Drivers Network.
During a press conference at Library Corner, San Fernando on Friday, Acosta and his members called on the Finance Minister Colm Imbert to “For the past eight years we have been under the gun. Any other adjustment to the fuel subsidy will bring great pressure to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, not just the travelling public.”
dy when he presents the 2024 Budget on October 2.
Acosta said taxi drivers have been facing immense hardships over the past eight years because of adjustments to the fuel subsidy and could not take much more. He added that deplorable road conditions have been hitting motorists hard in their pockets.
“We have faith that the government will have good news. We are hearing things will get rough because they are looking to hand over gas stations to private owners. If that happens, it will bring a great deal of hardship,” Acosta said.
He added that Barrackpore and Princes Town taxi drivers have been complaining about high maintenance costs and appealed to the government to address the pressing issue of road conditions which have significantly added to motorists’ expenses.
“The price of parts goes up every week. We are appealing to the government to fix the roads,” Acosta said.
He also called for stricter enforcement of regulations governing Private Hire (PH) drivers: “Long ago, it used to be that they would come out in the evening and now they are on the taxi stand the whole day. I don’t know if PH is legal. We are calling on law enforcement to crack down on this. It’s not against anybody looking to earn a dollar but we have done all we are supposed to do to have a taxi badge.”