In response to recent media reports concerning the issuance of Priority Bus Route passes to certain maxi taxi operators, the Ministry of Works and Transport wishes to provide some clarification of the issues.
In a release yesterday, it said since 2005, government policy regarding this issue is clear and is as follows:
1) A PBR permit is non–transferable,
2) The transfer of “H” rights from 25-seater maxi taxis to 12-seater maxi taxis is prohibited
3) The transfer of “H” rights in respect of maxi taxis is not to be entertained by the Licensing Authority, except in case of a replacement of a similar or greater capacity vehicle and
4) There was an agreement that on a phased basis, an equal mix of 12-seater and 25–seater maxi taxis be allowed to operate on the PBR.
It added, therefore, that the claims made by the president of the Route 2 Maxi Taxi Association that PBR permits had been denied to certain applicants since the change of Government was wholly erroneous.
It said the public was hereby advised that maxi taxi operators continued to engage in arrangements contrary to the above stated policy.
It cited an example where maxi taxis were sold and not transferred on the records of the Licensing Authority, in breach of the law, but the original owner retained the permit which allowed the vehicle access to the PBR.
The ministry had received complaints that these retained PBR permits were used to illegally extract monthly sums from the new beneficial owners.
The ministry confirmed that discussions were held with the Route 2 Maxi Taxi Association, which advocated for the transfer of these permits to the new applicants and assured the public the matter was receiving the attention of the ministry on a case-by-case basis.
It said during those discussions, the president of the association admitted that some of his members abused, or intended to abuse, the system and the president gave an undertaking to submit a list of persons on whose behalf he was advocating.
It added that it must also be noted that the president agreed with the ministry that the matter was purely for consideration and broached no guarantee of the issuance of such PBR permits.
The public is further advised that the grant of such permits would require a change in the long-established and well-known policy.