Come tomorrow morning, commuters from Point Fortin, Siparia and Penal using maxi-taxis to travel to San Fernando will have to pay an extra dollar to get to their destinations.
Secretary of the Route Five Maxi-Taxi Association Allan Rampaul said the increase in fares is a result of the adjustment to the diesel subsidy and higher taxes on tyres.
On October 2, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced an increase in the cost of diesel from $2.30 per litre to $3.41 per litre with immediate effect. Imbert said that new tyres utilised on motor cars attracted a 30 per cent while used pneumatic tyres did not. To address this, he proposed a 30 per cent customs duty on both used and new. However, the customs duty on the importation of new tyres for buses and lorries remain at 15 per cent. He further proposed to implement an environmental tax of $20.00 per imported tyre to cover the cost of proper disposal of used tyres.
Rampaul said the decision was taken after several meetings between drivers, who saw an increase in their operational costs.
“We want to increase the fares in the route five areas by $1 across the board effective from Thursday 19, 2017. We had a few meetings, on Thursday, on Saturday and last night to discuss the increase in fares because of the subsidy removal of diesel and hike in the price of tyres, spare parts and other operational cost.
“Maxis do not run on fuel alone. There are other factors to consider and when fuel went up to $4.44 per gallon that was a big chunk out of our budgets.
Association trustee Ashook Sirju said many people have been asking about an increase in fares since the budget.
INCREASES
San Fernando to Point Fortin $8 - $10
San Fernando to Siparia $8-$9
San Fernando to Penal $7 - $8
All short drop will increase by $1