PHILIPSBURG:--- Five taxi associations operating in the Southern half of the island have proposed a change to the existing tariffs, according to them, “due to the increased cost of living and inflation.”
In a letter to the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, the associations stated that the proposed amendments to the current tariffs are also to “synchronize tariffs with the Frenchside Taxi Association which is presently in negotiations to increase their tariffs.”
“We met last week to discuss, among other things, their proposal to change the current tariffs for different districts,” Heyliger-Marten said. “At this point, the proposal is being handled by the Ministry and I can’t take a decision on it yet until I receive the necessary advice.”
The Minister, however, noted that the sector is “overly saturated,” with the previous administration increasing the number of taxi licenses from 385 to 521.
President of the Airport Taxi Association, Andrew Royer, informed his membership that the meeting with Minister Heyliger-Marten “was fruitful.” He said the agenda points discussed also included “improvement of the working environment” and “future plans for the Taxi Associations.”
Some highlights of the proposal from the five taxi associations include the “reintroduction of fares to the French side, which should mirror the current tariffs of the French Taxi Associations.”
According to the associations, the last updated tariff change was in March 2022.
The proposal also calls for the “ride-sharing” initiative to be “permanently abolished due to its impracticability.”
Furthermore, the taxi associations want the tariff layout to be formatted on one page for easier visibility and legibility to guests and tourists, instead of being published in multiple pages. They would also like to implement a minimum US$10 tariff within districts (e.g. from Cole Bay to Cole Bay, etc.)
Representatives of the following associations signed the proposal: the Airport Taxi Association, Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association, Down Town Taxi Association, Maho Taxi Association, and Divi Taxi Services.
