With fuel at close to $9 a gallon, the public transport industry is in a crisis. And things just got that much harder for taxi drivers because they were served with a letter this week that tells them that they'll have to fork over big money if they want to continue operating out of their present taxi stands. How big is the money? Well in some cases it's an almost 300% increase, other cases 200%. But in lean times, one percent is stress, and over 100%, well the cab drivers say, that's just ruthless.
Alfonso Noble Reporting, Email - [alfnoble@yahoo.com]
Taxi stands across the city were this week served with a letter like this one which informs them that they will now have to pay a fee for having their taxis operating in the city streets. Depending where they operate from, the fee ranges from $500 all the way up to a $1,000 a month.
Taxi #1,
"The letter says that we have to pay $500 every month just for the use of this taxi stand and the space. We built this building but that $500 here...maybe I could pay something more but the guys most of them can't afford it because some of them have to rent car and men are hardly paying for the rent for their car. We didn't use to pay nothing here and that is why we knew this would come about but we didn't expect it to come about the way they are trying to do it; the amount they want to charge us and so."
Taxi #2,
"I got a letter Monday stating that we have to pay a $1,000 for the stand and it can only hold 5 cars. Its kind of ridiculous for us because we're not making that kind of money back here because there are a lot of poor people back here and its very slow back here. The first time we gathered here, we paid something like about $300 for the year which isn't bad but now they've raised it to a $1,000 a month which is highly ridiculous."
Now taxi-men throughout the city are up in arms, angered at the decision of City Council. The taxi men we spoke to they simply cannot afford to pay for running their taxis.
Taxi #2,
"Most of us here are family men and some of us out here don't even own our own cars so we got to find $35 a day then to find that extra money a day to pay those people its very ridiculous, its hard. They say if we pay the full $12,000 upfront they'll give us a 10% discount which is still ridiculous. It's very hard and I just wish somebody in high position could help us in this situation here because its very very rough for us."
Taxi #3,
"People look on taxi and think you make a lot of money but some of things you have to look at is that if I should check all the man out here, only about 6 of us own our own vehicle, the rest have to pay $40 a day for rental of a vehicle. Then you got almost $9 a gallon gas price, $800 a year insurance, the actual driver's license is $40 to renew, to license your car is $100 a year, and I think its ridiculous to have to pay $1,000 to run your little taxi. I understand everybody has to pay their taxes and the government needs taxes but taxes are just going up and we are not getting any kind of benefits. We don't have any kind of comfort. We are trying to work out how much will cost for a man to pay to be out here and you're looking at nearly $75 to $100 to park out here and we think its ridiculous."
Taxi #2,
"We don't mind paying say about $200 a month but a $1,000 its ridiculous."
Taxi #1,
"Definitely we should pay something but its just the price is ridiculous. You must pay something but the price is ridiculous."
But while the taxi-men see it as ridiculous, the city council justifies the fees as a way of regulating the taxi industry. But the taxi-men say this is simply not the way to go about the regulation.
Taxi #3,
"I understand the council needs to regulate the amount of chaos with the traffic, especially taxi, because people always have bad name to talk about taxi. I understand all of that but charging us a $1,000 a month, I don't see that helping the situation."
And while Sutherland wonders what will happen, taxi men are now left with the belief that more than any other group, they are now being given the squeeze and feeling the pinch of a cash strapped local government.
Taxi #3,
"The man says he has to make so much money to work out their budget but all small men in Belize are taking a licking. Any little business in which a small man can work and make a little dollar for himself, these are the areas in which this present administration is putting the hammer and cold chisel on us. Everybody has their family, we have our bills to pay, and this $1,000 a month is ridiculous. I don't see how we will come up with it."
Taxi #1,
"Definitely we are getting the bigger tax because they are already taxing us through gas. The amount which they tax us through gas is already too much tax for us so I don't think they should tax us, they should look elsewhere."
Taxi #3,
"I don't see why this government has to be pressuring us poor people or us taxi men in paying those high taxes. I understand, I agree, most of the guys agree with us that we have to pay something for the stand. For example we used to pay $80 for this spot out here, a year, and it went to $360 a year and we still weren't complaining. After meetings we understood there would have been $1,000 for the year which we still didn't have a problem with, yet this letter last week told us we had to pay $1,000 a month. That was the damper. Some men don't even want to come run taxi, they feel like giving up their car. I mean where is this government pushing us to? To rob and kill and thief? That is where they want us to go?"
Maybe not, but while that is not the direction we may want them to go, it does look that it's a risk City Council is willing to take to collect more from these small business operators.
The taxi men at Mahogany Street Taxi Stand have drafted a petition asking the City Council to reconsider. The letter will be signed by presidents of the various unions and circulated for presentation to the City Council.
