Taxis seek Uber probe, C-plates crackdown

Taxi operators have called for Transport Minister Kirk Humphrey to investigate Uber’s operations and for the government to introduce legislation regulating ride-hailing companies before the upcoming cruise season, amid claims that private and ‘C-plate’ commercial vehicles are being used for taxi work. At a press conference on Tuesday, taxi driver Colvin Yarde said operators had evidence that Uber was using private vehicles, despite an understanding that these vehicles would not be allowed to operate on the ride-hailing platform. The operators would not publicly disclose the evidence at this stage, but he maintained that they had proof. “We have proof that Uber is using private vehicles here in Barbados, which is contrary to the agreement and to the understanding that the government outlined,” he said. Yarde said the alleged use of private vehicles, along with C-plated commercial vehicles, was placing further financial pressure on traditional taxi operators, who already meet the costs of permits, licences, insurance, vehicle maintenance and fees for operating at the airport, seaport and hotels. He also alleged that C vehicles were being used in Uber’s operations, arguing that commercial vehicles should not form part of the island’s taxi operations. “We are speaking on behalf of those operators because they are being hurt and because they are feeling the pinch,” Yarde said. Taxi drivers had not received further information or held further talks with the transport ministry since meetings with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, then the transport minister, around Uber’s initial launch, he said. Yarde called for legislation specifically governing ridehailing applications, saying individual taxi operators were vulnerable when competing against larger companies. “Those [in power] that see how vulnerable we are should put measures in place to protect us from what is going on…” he said. The concerns over Uber were accompanied by renewed objections to what operators describe as the growing use of C-plate vehicles to carry passengers as taxis. Yarde said the practice was creating unfair competition for licensed taxi operators, who face higher costs in obtaining and maintaining their taxi licences. He said there are more than 2 600 taxi permits in operation and seen some 1 050 maxi-taxi or ZM plates. “So that means then there will be an excess of 3 000 taxis on the island issued by the government,” Yarde said. He argued that the alleged use of C-plated vehicles for taxi work could deprive licensed taxi operators of work while increasing the burden on those who pay the required government fees. “If you have these C taxis operating illegally, will that not put strain upon those legitimate ones who are paying the government the necessary fees and so on? Will that not also deprive us of work that should be coming to us?” Yarde said the stated purpose of each category of licence should be enforced. “After all, if you are going to issue a licence plate for a particular purpose, that should be adhered to and should be policed before putting pressure on the over 3 000 taxis that operate in Barbados.” Taxi operator Sharice Walrond-Sealy also raised concerns about the effect of promotional discounts on drivers’ earnings. She said the government had previously indicated that ride-hailing companies should take no more than 20 per cent of a trip’s cost, but argued that companies could still reduce drivers’ income by offering passengers discounted or premium fares. “They’re finding ways to cut our money, our income by offering that premium offer where the passenger will pay a fee to have access to cheaper rides,” Walrond-Sealy said. She said a short trip that would normally cost $24 could be reduced to about $10, leaving the driver with considerably less after the app’s commission was deducted. Walrond-Sealy said taxi operators bore the costs of maintaining their businesses while ride-hailing companies contributed nothing. “They give nothing to taxi operators, to the transportation system. They provide nothing to Barbados, and that’s the perspective that people don’t seem to get,” she said. (SB)