Members of the public who traverse the Chaguanas to Port-of-Spain route daily are reminded that despite the recent $2 hike in the taxi fare from $9 to $11, maxi fare have remained at $6.
Members of the Green Band Maxi Taxi Association yesterday assured the public they would continue to maintain that fare in spite of the economic hardships they were facing.
Declining to provide their names, the drivers of the 24-seater maxi-taxis confirmed the new rates went into effect on May 9.
Pressed to say why they continued to resist increasing fares, especially in light of the gas hike by the Government, one driver said: "There are so many challenges out there that people are facing that if we were to increase our fares as well, this could act as a deterrent to our loyal customers."
Stressing that they only operated from 5 am to 6 pm daily, the drivers said they had taken that decision after the number of commuters began dwindling after 6 pm, owing to various factors.
A second driver explained that it was "hard to wait for your 24-seater to fill up and have to leave with only 12 people or less nearly every day." They argued that the convenience afforded to registered taxi drivers, who are allowed to park along Broadway in Port-of-Spain, enabled commuters to access transport faster and easier.
The drivers said members of the public had voiced safety concerns about City Gate, including the poor lighting and lack of security during the night, as some of the reasons why they were hesitant to wait for a maxi after 6 pm.
Also facing competition from the drivers of private panel vans who "hustle" the same route, the maxi drivers said they have been encouraged to extend their working hours after witnessing a slight increase in the percentage of commuters accessing their services.
Vowing to make "themselves available" once that trend continues, the drivers said they were willing to absorb the additional costs in a bid to make life easier for the travelling public.
Some of the drivers said following the introduction of the water taxis some drivers plying the San Fernando to Port-of-Spain route encountered hardships leading to them having to sell their maxis, while some others sought private contracts with the school transport programme and the Public Transport Service Corporation to survive.
During an interview in Port-of-Spain yesterday, several taxi drivers revealed not all of them were charging commuters the new fare of $11 as they had not all been in agreement with the price hike.
Instead, some of them said they were accepting $10 in an attempt to "make things easier for passengers."
Declaring that their association had not increased the route fare during the past eight-and-a-half years before the increase earlier this month, the handful of drivers explained they had recommended to the union's executive that the fare could have been increased incrementally over a period of time instead of the sudden hike.
However, that advice was ignored, prompting some drivers to make personal decisions regarding the daily fare, they added.
One driver said it had been suggested that four-seater taxis could charge commuters the $11 fare, while seven-seater taxis could charge $10 a person, which would enable all the drivers to earn around the same amount of money.
Meanwhile, the drivers also complained about being hassled by the traffic wardens as there was inadequate parking to accommodate the number of taxis plying the route.