BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Traffic Department is making its final round of appeal to persons who use “private” vehicles as public service vehicles to desist from such practices.
Recently, the department issued a communiqué which read, “Taxi and tour operators using vehicles with ‘P’ registration numbers to carry passengers for reward are reminded that it is an offence.”
Head of the Traffic Department, Inspector Cromwell Henry, explained in an exclusive interview with SKNVibes the exact nature of the offence and how it is being committed.
“Public service vehicles have specific registration letters. They are ‘T’, ‘H’ and ‘GT’. Vehicles bearing these letters are legally authorised to operate as public service vehicles. Private vehicles have registration numbers which begin with the letter ‘P’. Those vehicles are not to be used as public service vehicles. What we find is that there are a number of vehicles in particular that are carrying passengers and have ‘P’ registration number. This is an illegal practice.”
The Inspector said the Traffic Department has been made aware of the individuals and companies that engage in this illegal practice and has begun the process of approaching and asking them to refrain from such practices. He however added that the Department has chosen to issue a public warning (1) “to reach those who we may not have been able to reach and (2) when we begin enforcing the law, the public would have no reason to say we are unfairly targeting people”.
“It is our intention, at the start of the next tourist season, to enforce the law in relation to this. People must understand and see the urgency and importance of correcting this problem, because if it is not corrected there could be serious repercussions,” Henry said.
Inspector Henry advised that “Operators are therefore asked to contact the Tourism Authority for the necessary authorisation to obtain a public service registration number from the Traffic Department”.
