The Land Transport Authority is once again calling on the taxi industry to deliver 24 hour service to the public, as there is nothing preventing them from doing so. LTA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Naisa Tuinaceva believes the taxi operators must adapt to the changing lifestyle in Fiji and provide the much needed service rather than blaming illegal taxis for taking away their business.
Mr Tuinaceva said:
“Illegal taxis are doing the job of legal taxi operators because they are failing to meet the demand for service, especially after hours. There are adequate number of taxi permits available nationwide to cater for demand at all times, so we do not see any reason why the taxi industry should not be able to do its job.”
Currently, there are 6,019 valid taxi permits nationwide, of which 4,295 are being used in the Central Eastern region, 1,264 are in the Western region, while 460 are in the Northern region.
There are 322 valid Minibus permits nationwide, of which 160 are being used in the Central Eastern region, while 158 are available in the Western region.
In total, 424 Rural Services Permit have been issued nationwide, of which 176 are based in the Central Eastern region, while 142 are being used in the Western region.
Mr Tuinaceva has however stressed that the Authority does not condone illegal operators although they are filling in the vacuum created by legal service providers. Mr Tuinaceva said:
“The public is forced to travel in illegal taxis because the legal ones are not around at all times. But it is quite risky for the public to travel in illegal taxis because:
1. These illegal taxis are driven by non PSV drivers;
2. The illegal taxis are not insured;
3. People are charged unregulated fare; and
4. Also, we don’t know what sort of a person is driving an illegal taxi – the person could even be indulging in criminal activities, and that can prove dangerous to the public.
“The Authority does not condone illegal operations and will continue to crackdown on such operators.
The Authority is also appealing to legal PSV operators who are operating illegal taxis to refrain from doing so as this is unfair on PSV operators who are operating within the boundaries of the system and are paying tax, third party and base fee.
The public is encouraged to report illegal public transport to LTA via free texting code 582 and email
infor@lta.com.fj.