00:00Route 1 maxi-taxi drivers are back out. We're told that a call was made last night for them to
00:06return to servicing the route.
00:08And although things are a bit staggered at this moment, they express hope that by tomorrow things will return to
00:15normalcy as the word gets around.
00:18The call to return from President of Association Maxi-Taxi President Ian Hewitt was confirmed by Kenny Arno.
00:24He has been operating the route since 1986 and says frequent passengers are familiar with the problems they are facing.
00:31We sincerely apologized for yesterday, but something had to be done to have the issues addressed.
00:40One is the proliferation of all the P-cars out there.
00:44Reckless driving and all these different things that you're seeing on the routes now, it's becoming more and more dangerous,
00:50right?
00:51We have the white buses which are not being addressed in these different areas.
00:55And they're now, as the president made a statement early in his interview, where they are coming on the stands.
01:00The issue has also been highlighted by Hewitt as one of top priority.
01:05But what transpired amid a strike is that more private vehicles took the opportunity to work under serviced and unserviced
01:12routes.
01:13We were making noise about lawlessness, right?
01:17So we decided the whole and the lawlessness showed itself yesterday.
01:24Do you not think that that measure for what you just stated was counterproductive?
01:32It depends on what you look like, what you, I'm sorry, what you think about it.
01:37That was a good thing for the police, the license office, and the traffic ordinance to do their work.
01:45According to Hewitt, the meeting with Transport Minister Eli Zakour on Monday evening influenced the call he made for maxi
01:52-taxis to return.
01:54He says prior to that, all they were getting from the minister were extended deadlines on promises made since January
02:00of this year.
02:01And yesterday we were told we were doing some work on it.
02:07During that space of time, to know, it's only yesterday we know that they were doing some work on it.
02:18Hewitt also states that the minister refused to put anything in writing despite the association's request to do so.
02:23Because he's chairman of the Route 1 association and usually they meet on Mondays, his members got the decision taken
02:31to return ahead of other routes.
02:33Nonetheless, it doesn't mean that all associations or all drivers would heed the call.
02:38I called one person and I tell them that, you know, we will be coming back out.
02:44But I didn't issue nothing. I'm still waiting on a press release.
02:48But again, it's up to the individual routes.
02:53While the CTPS and other state agencies stepped up to the task to get commuters home on Monday,
02:59the comments made by Police Commissioner Alistair Guevara and were stated by Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Visasa
03:04as to the safety of the police transport aren't sitting well with Hewitt and his members.
03:10It puts public transportation at a different level now.
03:19We are sure that he's aware that people get rubs, rub, and that true Trinidad balance, I have to say,
03:32rubs and the net luxes, you know, come on.
03:37Route 3 Maxis were also out on Tuesday morning.
03:41Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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