The Chief of Police has warned bus and taxi drivers in Dominica against hiking transport fares. He said it is illegal to raise fares without due process and approval from the Dominica Transport Board (DTB). Speaking on behalf of the police chief, Acting Superintendent of Police for the Southern District, Leanna Edwards, said transport workers must interface with DTB and hike recommendations approved before it can be implemented.
Emphasizing that the Chief of Police who is also the chairman of DTB was not notified before the fare hike, Edwards said the Vehicle and Road Traffic Act 4650 provides that drivers must make a formal request which must be granted by DTB before execution. She tasked members of the public to report any erring drivers to law enforcement for appropriate prosecution.
It is an offence for a bus driver to make commuters pay an increase in bus fares without the required approval. Let me inform the Bus Drivers that there is a process by which bus fares are increased. There must be an engagement with the DTB where a formal request is made and discussions and consultations must take place, and a recommendation is then made for consideration and approval based on these recommendations.
Leanna Edwards, Acting Superintendent of Police for the Southern District
Bus and taxi drivers across the country justify increasing transport fares because of the general increment in petroleum products. As at March 11, 2022, prices rose from $13.95 per gallon of gasoline to $14.89, diesel from $12.95 to $13.91, kerosene $11.31 to $12.81 and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from $37.85 to $39.00.
The Director of Trade, Mathan Walter, said the increment is the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that most countries of the world are impacted by the war by the rising cost of fuel. Herbert Sukie Watson, a popular businessman, used the opportunity to implore the Skerrit-led administration to take advantage of Dominica’s bilateral friendship with Venezuela to import bulk oil shipment at concessionary prices.
However, transport workers said they did not increase fares based on rising fuel costs alone, but on other factors that impact commercial transportation.
The tires are more expensive, oil, and even parts we purchase to repair our vehicles. So we are not saying that only the increase in fuel should generate an increase but all other factors must be considered.
Phillip Guiste, President of the Combined Taxi Association
Some other drivers said it is not easy to repay their vehicle loans without increasing transport fares in the face of increased fuel costs. Others said they pay through their noses to repair their vehicles because of the terrible road conditions in the country, and that raising fares is the only way to enjoy some leverage in the transportation industry.
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