End of the Dollar ride?

E.E.:

I hope that it's not the end of the dollar taxi.

F.I.

if it cuts down on the sheer number of taxis,it's worth it

FI: The dollar rides have never been legal. They are basically acting as buses, but are not regulated like the bus system. I believe that the governor is searching for ways to reduce corruption and this is certainly one of them.

What will the public do if there are no more dollar buses?.....they depend on them.

I've seen very few VITRAN buses throughout the island (STT).

That is exactly how the dollar ride started. Capitalism at its best! They are talking about getting smaller buses (I never understood why they would buy those big Greyhounds anyway!) and expanding the bus service. I hope this new taxi lady can do something- everyday I see safaris and vans with no tail lights, passing on double lines, driving up on sidewalks, harassing potential customers etc, however I will believe it when I see it.

More

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17622360

i seem to recall an earlier thread where i complained about the taxi system on stt and everyone pooh poohed me,it's out of control and ruining stt

trw: This is a no pooh-poohing board! 😉

lol

Oh, they run the island all right. I have a heck of a time getting a taxi to take me to my house from the airport yet they won't allow a car service to pick me up. They've successfully blocked a water taxi which would help so much with traffic, pay no road tax on their vehicles & contribute a lot to negative things said about STT with their constant "Back to the ship" routine along with also blocking making Main St. a pedestrian zone on busy ship days.

Of course, you KNOW they pay their full share of taxes. (wink-wink-nudge-nudge)

That will soon be over. They are not blocking any water taxi. I know they are trying. There soon will be one that PWD is putting on line while the Long Bay road is being worked on. Once that shows success, it's only a matter of time. As far as the airport, the Port Authority is rewriting their requirements for taxi service. Hopefully this will be done soon.

RL

I admit that maybe I don't know enough about the law or the regulations regarding taxis and / or dollar rides, but I don't see anything wrong with the dollar rides. VITran can't seem to keep the very few buses they having running, so why should we think they will do any better with more. Won't it be expensive to buy all these new smaller buses? Then they will have to pay qualified maintenance people (more gov. employees). If there are issues with the dollar rides, why not just clean up their act and leave this form of public transportation in the private sector? Obviously they won't buy as many buses as there are dollar rides, so it won't be as convenient for the riders, but hey, maybe the taxis can pick up the slack. Oh wait, maybe that's the whole idea!!!

Latest article in VI Daily news implied they would have vehicles in place before end of year.....if I read that correctly. Gov. is doing a lot of great things but I'm still puzzled by a few things. I guess I'm just posting my thoughts here:
1. Do they have the funding, organizational structure, etc. to get those vehicles out there to support/replace the service that dollar rides are supporting today?
2. Is there going to be enough vehicles to support the need?
3. Will these vehicles apply the standard/regulated rates?
4. If #3 is true, then how will locals be able to manage increase in costs for their day-to-day living expenses?
5. Are they really going to start enforcing/restricting 'dollar' taxis? Will this be the VIPD doing this enforcement?
6...........many other details running around my head.

I'm not complaining or making a case one way or the other. I acknowledge there are cons about an unregulated public service just as there are pros. I have all these questions/thoughts about logistics, cost, service availability, convenience, ..............I suppose any answers would be pure speculation......no response necessary....again, just thinking out loud.

I think they need to reclassify the taxi system. If the 'dollar ride' taxis want to be that then they should be classified as such. In Puerto Rico they are called publicos, in Trinidad, Route taxis. They charge much less than a taxi. Problem here is that on days when there are no ships, the guys who haul tourists infringe on the regular 'dollar rides' business. This would restrict it to those only with dollar ride licenses. hopefully this will also move towards the regulating of the cramming 20 people in a cab on a per person basis and bring back personalized regular taxi sedans.

RL