T&T gets 4 new Water Taxis; fares might go up to $20

(T&T's new water taxis on show at Staubles Bay. Inset, Transport Minister Jack Warner and his junior minister, Rudranath Indarsingh)

Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner took the media on a tour Monday to visit the four new water taxis that arrived over the weekend.

The boats cost the Trinidad and Tobago government $470 million. They were ordered from an Australian company by the previous Manning government for use in the Trinidad and Tobago Water Taxi Service between Port of Spain and San Fernando.

Warner has said he plans to expand the service to Point Fortin and include stops at strategic locations to give citizens greater access. He has also suggested that the vessels could be hired for weekend and holiday charters, when traffic on the regular routes are greatly reduced. He is also considering the use of the ferries between Trinidad and Tobago.

The boats are named Calypso Sprinter, Trini Flash, Paria Bullet and the Carnival Runner.

Each of the ferries can carry as many as 405 passengers and travel at speeds of more than 37 knots. The commute time from Port of Spain to San Fernando is expected to be about 45 minutes.

When fully operational the water taxi service is expected to transport over 7,500 passengers in a normal working day and will be integrated with other transport systems.

Warner told reporters who were invited to visit the vessels on Monday he hopes to have the boats operational by October 1 and suggested that the fare could increase from $15 to $20. He expects that soon people will be able to buy ferry tickets from Lotto vendors.

“The entire aim is to reduce traffic congestion, make these vessels less expensive to the State as possible. We must try to wean ourselves from the belief that we have an ever-flowing Treasury and that money will never be a problem. We have to find ways and means to practice economies of scale,” Warner said.

Speaking about the budget to be presented Wednesday Warner said he has asked for $4 billion to undertake critical infrastructure work in the new fiscal year.

“If we get that, it would be a dream, but I don’t think that’s possible. Whatever we get we shall have to prioritise and live with what we have. We all know that the treasury is not what it used to be and we have to be prudent in our managing the budget,” Warner stated

He said his top priorities remain the building of five new highways and ending the perennial problem of flooding.

The minister also wants to establish priority lanes for buses and maxi-taxis on all highways, starting with one from Chaguanas to Grand Bazaar before the end of 2010.