A new traffic arrangement along High Street, San Fernando, that now requires taxis to wait in queue for passengers has been given the thumbs up by San Fernando Business Association president Daphne Bartlett.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure installed metal barriers along the Port-of-Spain, Curepe and Chaguanas taxi stands randomly. These stop taxis from entering and exiting the stand. Speaking by telephone yesterday, Barlett said motorists could now drive freely as the previous arrangement had allowed drivers to block traffic on the road until a space in the taxi stand became vacant.
She said there was also a plan to move some of the taxi stands, including Port-of-Spain and Curepe, off of High Street when the government’s proposed transport hub is built.
She said, “From time immemorial we have been saying that taxis waiting on one side of the road to cross over and fit in the middle of the taxi stand created endless traffic. Sometimes they were perpendicular on the road and while you were driving this would force you to be in the line of traffic. This is an excellent arrangement.
“Our plan is really to move out some of the fixed taxi stands which do not bring customers to and from the city. Some just transport people to Port-of-Spain and Curepe so we can put them in another location like the transport hub. We congratulate every one who was involved.”
San Fernando mayor Kazim Hosein explained that the taxi association had asked him to implement the new system because drivers would cut in and out of the queues. He therefore met with the Traffic Management Division of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to have the barriers installed.
However, some taxi drivers complained that the space was too small and their doors hit the barriers when opened. They said the barriers only worked well for those seven seater vehicles with sliding doors. KF