SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--Thursday night's stakeholder consultation on public transportation aimed at taxi and bus drivers was jam-packed and showed pent-up frustration on the side of attendees in the question and answer section, which took up the majority of time.

However, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor concluded by saying the team had been given "a lot to work with, which was needed for more than one reason" and called it an "opportunity ... despite a lot of emotion."

The Minister and a panel of TEATT officials delivered a brief presentation focusing on steps being taken to upgrade legislation and policy before inviting feedback through the moderator, Department of Communication official Rodney Richardson.

The main criticism expressed by many of the attendees was that they had been made promises before that remained unfulfilled, they believed the TEATT team was not doing anything for them, that moratoriums were lifted by "minister after minister" for political reasons, and that commissioners/ministers switched places so frequently that the words "long-term" would translate to "never going to happen."

Some also commented that existing rules were not enforced and others stated that some rules were unclear and/or unavailable. Questions on insurance and health care, licence ownership and criteria were raised, and some also pointed out what they saw as unfair competition; for example, car rentals that rented out large vehicles or water taxis that now also go to Maho instead of sticking to Philipsburg.

Members of the team addressed the complaints, gave clarifications in what they could, and pointed out their limitations and scope of power. The crux of many answers was that legislation needs to be updated so that the team has a leg to stand on, a process that will take time.

Under the proposed legislation, the drivers will have more secure ownership of their licences. Criteria were explained as critical to quality and accessibility, with disabled access and environmental criteria given as examples of necessary measures.

The team said it was not in control of insurance and health care, as these depend on the Ministry of Health Care, Social Development and Labour. The year 2016 was said to be "realistic" for some goals.

As for the unwanted competition, the issue of car rentals renting out large vehicles was news to the Minister, but he said it would be looked into. He also explained that through loopholes, some water taxis officially had "tour operating" services as part of their permits and thereby were stretching the rules by going to Maho under that description.

As for rules not being properly enforced, enforcement falling under the responsibility of the Prosecutor's Office, which has a very wide scope of responsibility, was a possible reason given for enforcement not being effective. However, under TEATT's proposal, the ministry would assume more responsibility here.

In response to comments on rules being unclear/unavailable, Minister Connor requested that the team be given one month to have rules in English made available online.

In response to the sentiment that TEATT was doing nothing for the drivers, the point was made that the team was ultimately not the decision-maker. This falls on the shoulders of a minister. An example was given where the team "worked tirelessly on the proposal for Changing Lanes," a project with which attendees indicated they were familiar. Funding had been secured and it had been submitted for approval, but the team ultimately was not in the position of decision maker.

As it pertained to a former public transportation committee that included both TEATT and industry representatives, it was pointed out that lack of quorum because of the absence of industry representatives had been a constant issue, which created a backlog and meant that ministers could lift moratoriums without the committee's advice, if the committee was not able to give that advice.

Minister Connor commented a number of times during the session that the feedback would be used to tailor the proposal and that it was not the time for promises and immediate, detailed answers. While many drivers still left with a feeling that little would change, a few were heard saying they were happy he had heard their concerns.

Current concerns addressed by the officials before the feedback session were routing, help and assistance drivers, training, terminals, gypsies, controls and a public transportation committee.

Short term proposals address the issues of training, medical care, identification, application forms being in English, moratoriums and study, while a new national ordinance was proposed for the long term that addresses modern legislation, routing, public transportation operators, penalties, a public transportation committee, vehicle requirements, dispatching, combining the G and T plates, and the school bus and car rental sectors.

The meeting was held at Philipsburg Cultural Centre. The TEATT panel comprised Minister Connor, Miguel De Weever, Lucy Richardson, Valya Lake, Lucien Wilson, Bram Reinke and Jude Houston.