Drivers will not suffer due to government's taxi solution efforts: Minister

Local taxi drivers will not suffer the brunt of the government's decision to hand over taxi services in the Malé and Hulhumalé region to a state owned enterprise, aimed at enhancing service quality in the area, assured Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen today.

Speaking at a press conference held at the President's Office, Minister Ameen said that the government has not announced the establishment of a state owned taxi line. However, the taxi issue is not a recent matter, and it is a grave concern of the public, he said.

Among these concerns are the lack of taxi availabilities during certain hours, and refusal of taxis to take passengers to certain locations, he also detailed.

"These are issues regarding which many members of the public are concerned - that taxis are unavailable when people want it. These are identified through sensitive analysis. That taxis are unavailable to go from one part of Malé to another, but that taxis are available to cross the Sinamalé Bridge," Ameen said.

Despite this, taxi businesses are able to run without any interference, said Ameen.

According to the Minister three to four approaches can be taken to resolve the matter.

He detailed that he has met with members of the Taxi Drivers Association and that he assured them that the government would not take any action that would cause the drivers a loss.

"The assurance I gave to the Taxi Drivers Association that day was, the government wouldn't do anything that would harm their service and them. However, [drivers] twisted [my words] and said that the Minister turned back on his words. The Minister has not turned back on his words. Even today, I am saying that I will not harm those in that business," Ameen said.

The Minister further said that taxi drivers do their jobs to earn an income and that the system cannot be designed in a way that does not impact their incomes.

He went onto say that while the taxi fares are already established, they cannot be changed further. The public does not have the financial means to afford the higher fares, and taxi service standards need to be raised, he said. Capacity to cater to the population of the Malé area is also lacking, he said, adding that the service fleet needs to be equipped with the necessary resources.

"Those who are currently providing taxi services will not be impacted," Ameen assured, expressing dissatisfaction over the matter being politicised.

Although not officially announced, the inclusion of establishing a "taxi line" by the government in the Malé Fahi programme put together by the government raised red flags for members of the Taxi Drivers Association, who escalated the matter to the Parliament.

Answering the Parliament's committee on the matter, Ameen said the government must enter the sector and take control with relevant laws and regulations. If not, Malé would drown in vehicles, he said, claiming safety in that regard is already compromised.