Grande/Mayaro taxi fares hiked to $40 Sharlene Rampersad Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 Taxi drivers working the Mayaro to Sangre Grande route have increased their fares by $28 a passenger as they now have to use an alternative route after flood waters washed away about four miles of the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road on Sunday. The hike came even as members of the communities continued their clean-up operations and the Disaster Management Unit of the Ministry of Local Government shut down their operations in Mayaro after the Level Two alert for the eastern community was lifted. The T&T Guardian spoke to taxi drivers who were awaiting passengers to go to Sangre Grande in Mayaro yesterday and one of them, Gerry Audain, explained the reason behind the price hike. “Well, the fare was $12 when we used the Manzanilla stretch but now we are charging $40 because we have to pass through Rio Claro and Biche to get to Grande,” he said. Audain said while some customers have complained about the increase others just bear it. “One trip down used to take about 45 minutes on the ‘Manzan’ road. Now it taking us one hour and 45 minutes to reach Grande.” He said out of the 20 drivers who usually ply the route, only ten have been working since the road was washed away. “Most of the fellas not coming out. They don’t want to work their cars on the bad roads. “For the day now, where we used to make four and five full trips (back and forth), now we lucky to make one,” he said. Audain said the increase in the fare was also for the convenience passengers are afforded in not having to take multiple taxis to get to Mayaro or Sangre Grande. But passengers using the route, like school teacher Velda Henry, said they did not know how much longer they could afford to pay the steep fares. Henry, a Food and Nutrition teacher at Guayaguayare Secondary School, who lives in Arima, said her travelling costs have doubled since the increase. “Normally I spend $70 a day on transport, now I spend $130 every single day just to come to work,” she said. With an asthmatic daughter to take care of, Henry said the cost was just too high for her to bear. “I don’t have a choice. I have to come to work but now three-quarters of my salary going in travelling,” she lamented. During the interview with Henry, a PTSC bus drove into Mayaro, with a sign saying “Mayaro/Sangre Grande.” The PTSC yesterday implemented a free service to Sangre Grande and Mayaro to provide some relief to commuters. Henry and another commuter, Gloria Marcano, expressed joy upon seeing it, as the bus driver confirmed the service was free. The driver, who did not want to give his name, spoke to the T&T Guardian briefly, explaining that yesterday was the first day of the free service. “It’s only today we started. We are supposed to make five return trips for the day, I think. A lot of people are glad to save that taxi fare,” he said. Alternate Route Mayaro to Sangre Grande, which many persons now use following the closure of the Manzanilla-Mayaro Road. Source Ministry of Works and Infrastructure Trinidad and Tobago bit.ly/1ymiUAH Source:: Trinidad Guardian The post Grande/Mayaro taxi fares hiked to $40 appeared first on Trinidad & Tobago Online. #trinidad
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 07:39:45 +0000
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