Taxi group calls for truce between cabbies, police

Transport sector leader Edgerton Newman is calling for urgent action to repair what he describes as an “untidy” relationship between the police and public passenger vehicle operators.

Newman, who is president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), raised the concern following last Monday’s disruption to public transportation in some rural areas, saying that although operators have returned to work, longstanding friction with the police remains unresolved.

“Yes, the police have to do what they have to do, but do it in the right way,” Newman told THE STAR. He said the tension was evident even as transport leaders spent Monday morning encouraging operators to return to the roads. He said that while efforts were being made to restore normal service, reports of police seizing some vehicles sent some operators “into hiding” because they feared they could have outstanding traffic matters.