This is a complaint against some of the taxi drivers who ply the St James to Port-of-Spain route. This is a short route, with a fare of $4, yet still these taxi drivers refuse to go the whole route, from the PoS taxi stand to the Link Road at the end of St James.
When you go to the taxi stand, located by Woodford Square, many drivers ask you how far you are going. If you tell them you are going to the end of St James, they respond by saying that they're not going all the way and so you have to go down the line of taxis, asking each driver and getting the same response. Drivers who go the whole route can be counted on one hand.
I have had instances and have heard from other passengers, situations where the driver while en route to St James, asks the passengers how far they are going. When the passengers tell the driver that they are going lower down St James, the driver tells them that he is not going right down and so they have to come out of the taxi to take another or walk the distance.
The complaint from these unprofessional taxi drivers is that there is too much traffic lower down in St James and they don't want to get stuck in it. Every working person has some part of their job they hate to do, but do it nevertheless, knowing it is part of their job and they get paid for it. However, these drivers don't care about their passengers.
I congratulate the St James taxi drivers (usually the older heads and even some younger ones) who run the full route, whether there is traffic or not, to drop their passengers where they have paid to go. I appeal to the president of the St James Taxi Association to do something to rectify this situation. It has been going on far too long. Passengers must be treated fairly.
N Clarke
St James
