00:00President of the Route 2 MaxiTaxi Association, Brenton Knights, says drivers are in urgent need of better working conditions.
00:09He tells us, of the six MaxiTaxi routes, only two currently have any facilities and just one operates successfully.
00:19He says they would like to see budget allocations for infrastructure to ensure properly functioning hubs,
00:25using the successful route as a template to upgrade all hubs and provide safe, hygienic conditions for drivers.
00:34Brenton Knights, Red Band needs management at CityGate. It needs a hub in Arima.
00:38Sandy Grande is totally a disaster in terms of there is no running water.
00:43There is no access to toilet facilities as a 24-hour service. That is totally, totally unacceptable.
00:49We have some people doing some work behind the scenes, but we're asking that now that the ministry has been split,
00:55that we hope that it will be more concentrated in terms of transportation for our sake and the traveling public.
01:04He says they are hopeful the current government will have the long-awaited next-of-kin policy put in place,
01:11whereby ownership of MaxiTaxis can be transferred to family members.
01:16But really the ultimate thing is a proper policy to show that, hey, this is the way we're going to go forward.
01:22But next-of-kin is really, really, really a serious situation.
01:26Just yesterday, I got a phone call that one of our comrades has passed,
01:30and I know that's going to fall in the caption of next-of-kin.
01:34Meanwhile, president of the Route 1 MaxiTaxi Association and head of the Association of MaxiTaxis, Ian Hewitt,
01:41is stressing the urgent need to regulate private taxi drivers.
01:45He says they are taking food out of the mouths of hard-working, legitimate taxi operators.
01:53In Trinidad, we call it white van and peach.
01:57Outside there, them fellas just call it pirate, they just call it all kind of thing.
02:01They call it all kind of thing.
02:02I am saying we have.
02:04I know coming down in front of a building and a man with a white van,
02:07picking up all the passengers going Maraval,
02:09and my Maxi men, my members up on Juke Street, empty, empty.
02:15This is not right.
02:16And you're going any out of the six routes and we have pirate ride through.
02:20Hewitt also offered suggestions for easing traffic congestion from San Fernando to Port of Spain.
02:26He says the Maxi associations have long called for a dedicated bus route
02:31between South Trinidad and the capital city and they believe it is still urgently needed.
02:37He adds that under the Patrick Manning administration,
02:41half a billion dollars was spent on infrastructure for the rapid rail system.
02:46Speaking to the morning edition, he says,
02:49the plans are still in place and he is urging the current government to put them to use.
02:55Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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