B.V.I. Monday, June 28 - Last week, the minister along with his Permanent and Deputy Secretaries, Mr. Julian Willock, and Mrs. Myrna Ferdinand accompanied by Chief Licensing Officer, Ms. Lorna Christopher met with close to 30 taxi professionals to address issues raised as a result of the implementation of the regulations. – Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Julian Fraser RA, met with the Territory’s taxi professionals at the Long Bay Beach Resort to report on changes that were made to the Road Traffic Regulations 2009.
“This meeting was a follow up to a meeting held in March and it gave me an opportunity to report to the taxi operators on how the ministry has addressed a number of concerns they highlighted with the passage of the Road Traffic Regulations 2009,” Minister Fraser noted.
In addressing the operators’ request to have “Nature’s Little Secrets” reappear on the license plate, the minister unveiled three versions of the revised plate, which featured the replacement of the letters TX, with the word TAXI, and the slogan “Nature’s Little Secrets” added in its usual place. The minister explained the rationale for having the word TAXI on the plate, and it was well received.
Of the three versions, one was a plain white background; the other two featured a pictorial background, one dark and the other light. Unanimously, the operators selected the dark pictorial version as the preferred replacement. The minister agreed, and explained that it will come at a cost, to which there was no objection.
However, in anticipation of any resistance to cost, Minister Fraser offered the plain plate as an option free of cost.
Honourable Fraser also announced that the renewal of driver’s identification card will be every three years instead of annually. Medical physicals will be done every three years except for eye exams which will be carried out annually by the Vehicle Licensing Department at the time of vehicle registration. He further informed the taxi professionals that the class on the back of the driver’s license identifying them as a taxi operator has been put back.
Also, that the provision which prohibited a person from obtaining a taxi license if he or she had a criminal record within the last ten years of the application has now been changed to five years.
However, the minister explained that persons already possessing a permit and had a conviction prior to the enforcement of the regulations will not be impacted, but should there be a conviction after the regulations came into force the provision shall apply.
The gathering also posed questions about the draft taxi tariff and voiced concerns about the draft that was proposed by the ministry to the association presidents. Minister Fraser assured them that he will review all drafts thoroughly including sample tariffs that they submitted and will have a forum to address concerns before it is finalized.
Government is committed to ongoing discourse with industry professionals as it seeks to provide efficient and accurate services in vehicle licensing matters.
British Virgin Islands News