The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union is planning a Wednesday protest outside Parliament against the Road Traffic Department's efforts to "confiscate" 40 plates belonging to retired drivers.

Wesley Ferguson, the union's president, said these taxi plates are managed by his union on behalf of retired drivers. While the union collects a nominal management fee, he said the income generated from the plates' lease is of great benefit to the retired taxi drivers and their families.

"All of them are at risk," Mr Ferguson explained, adding that Bradley Sands, the Road Traffic Department's controller, had informed the union he has the "prerogative to confiscate the plates".

"He's now wrangling with the union as if he's trying to take the powers of the union," Mr Ferguson said. “I’ve been inundated with issues from the Road Traffic Department after 40 years of business as the norm. Mr Bradley Sands seeks to disenfranchise, and to just disenfranchise taxi drivers and send them home with no recourse. Over the last 40 years, the union is an entity where you can bring your plate to for safekeeping.” Mr Sands could not be reached for comment.

As for the taxi plates that were promised to union members after the moratorium on plates was lifted in 2019, Mr Ferguson said: “We were promised by the then-minister [for transport] Renward Wells that these plates will be issued in short order. It is now going on close to 18 months. The taxi plates are nowhere to be found."

Calling on the Government to show “some kind of humility, some kind of compassion", Mr Ferguson said it was vital that the taxi plate issue be resolved before the economy rebounds from COVID-19 so that drivers can get a head start for when tourism revives.

He added: “Right now we have about 500 taxi drivers in the union and growing out of 1,135. But the BTCU speaks and represents every taxi driver. It doesn't matter whether you are in the union or not. Once we negotiate, every taxi driver benefits from our negotiation. So when we come downtown next week, there'll be the entire taxi industry for Wednesday morning. The entire taxi industry.”