00:00From Curep to Shoguanas, Sandy Grandi to Port of Spain, it was pain for early morning commuters who were faced
00:09with empty maxi stands at peak period.
00:12Failure this morning, failure problems. Yeah, we need to go to work on those problems.
00:18A few hours later, the situation was much the same.
00:22Meantime, things remain very slow here in a remurge, just about 1 p.m. and I'm on the corner of
00:28Broadway and St. Joseph's streets, where usually there would be a long line of maxis here awaiting the end of
00:34school.
00:35But as you can see, not a single maxi inside.
00:39For a slater, one or two maxi working on the manual, so let's see.
00:42Very busier pressure.
00:44So you all don't have any, like, taxi service to?
00:47No, no, we don't.
00:49No alternatives whatsoever?
00:51No.
00:52So you're prepared to wait? How long here?
00:55I see you have a baby strapped to you, you have an umbrella, you have a bag.
00:57How long are you prepared to wait?
00:59As long as I can, as long as I can have a vehicle, I don't mind waiting.
01:02In a 30-minute period, roughly three maxis came by the Arima stand.
01:07In Curep, however, the situation was quite the opposite.
01:12Some hear the Curep to Shoguanas maxi taxi stand and, despite the planned, strike action by maxi taxi operators.
01:19As you can see, there are several green-band maxi taxis behind me, and they are, in fact, flying the
01:26route.
01:27TV6 News attempted to speak with drivers, but they declined to comment.
01:32However, one Calita St. Helena taxi driver, who operates from Curep Junction, told TV6.
01:39While there was some reduction in the flow of passengers today, the impact was negligible.
01:44Most people who came, they come from, they take maxi, they come from either Arima, San Juan, or Tenapuna.
01:54But the flow is constant. It's a normal day, right now.
02:00However, the strike action was evident along the PBR in Curep, which is usually thronging with maxi taxis.
02:08Still, there were a few drivers who decided to work the route.
02:11TV6 News also observed three buses in the space of about 20 minutes.
02:18We're seeing a PTSC bus here.
02:20This is that Curep Junction. The bus just came down.
02:23The bus route heading west.
02:25Full to capacity.
02:27Completely full.
02:29Persons are standing.
02:32All of the seats are filled.
02:34Then, the centre aisle is completely filled at this time with passengers.
02:41So, what we're seeing as the day progresses is that more and more maxi taxi operators are, in fact, coming
02:47out and servicing their respective routes.
02:50Meantime, PTSC tells TV6 News that it did, in fact, move to put contingency measures in place in anticipation of
02:59the planned strike action.
03:00We added about at least six to seven buses.
03:05We had a total this morning of roughly around 100 buses in the system.
03:12That is all throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
03:16Again, the main concentration of persons that we see affected today was along the PBR.
03:23So, we have been operating since half three, four o'clock this morning.
03:27Most of our services, regular services, are running out as per schedule.
03:33Over the weekend, we would have worked on a number of buses, ran through our buses, and got some back
03:39into service to ensure that we had as much vehicles available as possible.
03:45Of course, we are limited by resources in managing the entire situation.
03:51But what we have been doing is redirecting resources where we have large pockets of persons.
03:57And I have been utilising buses from other depots, particularly along the east-west corridor.
04:04While TV6 News questioned why the measures which were taken today are not par for the course at the corporation,
04:12this was the general manager's response.
04:15Why wait until now?
04:17Well, buses need to rest.
04:20They need to be checked.
04:21They need to be serviced in order to have reliability.
04:25So, while we will do this in this emergency circumstance, it is not recommended to do this for an excellent
04:32period of time.
04:33Maxi-taxi operators are calling for the government to give attention to the following.
04:38An increase in the highway speed limit for maxi-taxis from 65 km an hour to 80 km an hour.
04:46A crackdown on illegal PH taxi operations.
04:50Solutions to escalating crime affecting operators and passengers.
04:55And payment of outstanding monies owed to drivers for transporting school children, among other issues.
05:02The associations met with the Minister of Works late this evening.
05:06Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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