La Romaine taxi drivers have increased their fares by $1 because of deplorable roads, excessive traffic and mounting costs of car maintenance. President of the association Desmond Bernard Brathwaite said short drops would be increased from $3 to $4. He said most of the roads in La Romaine were in a deplorable state and that was contributing to heavy traffic.
The new rates will take effect from August 1. "In years gone by, we would take 25 minutes to drive from La Romaine to San Fernando, but now we take between one hour to 90 minutes because of the traffic congestion at Claude, Temple and Church Streets between 6.30 am to 8 am and 2.30 to 6 pm," Brathwaite said. He said many drivers who were heading to Siparia and Fyzabad used La Romaine to escape the congestion along the South Trunk Road.
He added: "People try to get out of the traffic between PriceSmart and Gulf City, so they use La Romaine and this causes more delays for taxi drivers." He said more than 25 registered La Romaine taxi drivers have abandoned the route, opting to work along the Cipero Street to San Fernando route instead.
Saying PH drivers were charging $5 from Gulf City to San Fernando, Brathwaite said that made it harder for registered taxi drivers to make a decent living. As a result, all short drops on the San Fernando to La Romaine route have been increased to $5, Gulf City to San Fernando goes to $5, La Romaine to Cross Crossing will cost $6 and La Romaine to Quenca Street has increased to $8.
He said the fare from San Fernando to Sunset Ridge and Sunset Cove also has been increased to $15. It was previously $10. San Fernando to Gulf View will cost $9 while La Romaine to Ruth Avenue will be $7.