The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Energy and Transport JoBeth Coleby-Davis said the government’s revenue intake at the Road Traffic Department has at times been “skewed” due to many taxi and livery plates being inactive.

Her comments came after her ministry announced that almost 800 inactive taxi and livery plates are slated to be recalled. She confirmed yesterday that an ongoing audit at the Department of Road Traffic is reviewing inactive plates.

In the ministry’s notice, inactive taxi and livery plate numbers were listed for New Providence and Grand Bahama. Holders of those plates can visit the department to bring their franchises up to date. If they fail to do so, the plates will be subject to recall.

Ms Coleby-Davis said inactive plates form part of government revenue, adding that the weeding out of unused plates had not been done for years. She said the audit was also prompted by high demand from people applying for new plates.

“Cleaning up the inactive plates in the system helps us to be able to address some of the areas where we see potential shortfalls in our finance,” she said.

She noted that revenue at the Road Traffic Department is sometimes “skewed” because calculations are based on all plates issued, without being aware of the inactive ones. She clarified that it is not that the government is failing to collect revenue, but that many plates are simply not being utilised.

The Ministry of Energy and Transport said its audit identified 783 inactive plates in New Providence and Grand Bahama. Any taxi or livery plate with no activity for six months or more, due to delinquency or the death of the franchise holder, is considered inactive.

Effective November 30, under Section 69 (1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act (as amended) and in accordance with the proclamation made by the Minister of Energy and Transport during the 2025/2026 Budget debate, the Controller of the Road Traffic Department will recall all taxi and livery plates inactive for six months or more.

Bahamas Taxicab Union president Tyrone Butler said the government should have considered recalling inactive plates before issuing hundreds of new ones “recklessly” a few years ago.

According to reports, between June and July 2022 the Ministry of Transport and Housing issued 580 taxi plates.

Mr Butler said the transportation industry has been oversaturated with plates since then. He added that many operators began leasing their plates to others, but when the market proved too small, many became inactive.

He said some plates belong to retired or deceased holders and that he supports the government recalling those. However, he believes people should still be allowed to update their plates if necessary.

He estimated that about 90 percent of the inactive plates belong to taxi drivers.

Bahamas Livery Drivers Union president Tory Austin praised the ministry for the recall, calling it “a long time coming.” He said his union was aware of the audit process and was not surprised by the number of inactive plates.

“There are a lot of people who are trying to get in this industry, who are trying to make a living for their families,” he said. “But unfortunately, because the market seems so saturated, we need to find out who’s actually active in the workplace.”