Bahamas taxi drivers to protest against the Government on Tuesday

Nassau, The Bahamas — Frustrated taxi drivers are preparing themselves for an early morning protest at Rawson Square to raise several concerns.

President of the Bahamas Taxicab Union (BTU), Wesley Ferguson, stated that local cab drivers are facing many issues. Several attempts have been made to address these problems to Minister of Transport and Local Government, Renward Wells. However, all of their efforts failed.

The Bahamas Taxicab Union has also tried to grab the government’s attention in the past couple of months. They have voiced numerous concerns such as the unlawful use of taxi plates and an infringement on their business by rental car owners.

“There are drivers [that] can’t get their cars inspected,” Mr. Ferguson states. “You have persons who are taking taxi plates back from them. There are a number of issues and the government hasn’t done anything for us. We are heading back downtown. We are heading there on Tuesday when they meet for Cabinet. They have turned down the volume on us. They aren’t saying anything to us. We aren’t getting any resolution or answers. Everyone is playing hardball. There has been no relief to our concerns. All we have gotten is more sanctions.”

He further claimed that: “In essence, the only thing we got from government so far is [having] 200 taxi drivers at the end of this licensing period, come Saturday morning, are going to suddenly be out of business. The [Road Traffic] Controller has gone on an all-out attack against taxi drivers where they are knit picking.”

Mr. Ferguson states that as long as the government continues to ignore the taxi drivers’ cries for change, they will continue to fight for justice.