The minister said a legal team at his ministry is working on the details of an appropriate tax for use of the parking area, security, cleaners and lighting.
Warner said he will seek public opinion on the tax proposals. “Let the public comment about it for a two-week period and then we shall implement. The public must comment because this must not be a Jack Warner thing or a ministry thing.”
Warner noted at the present time maxi operators don't pay for any of these services and reminded reporters that the drivers "were paying $1 fee for the cost of this while we paid all the other costs for security and cleaning...We charged them $1 to use the facilities and they took us to court.”
The minister said since the token $1 user fee imposed in 2001 for each maxi leaving city gate was declared illegal by the Privy Council "we are going to reassess the actual cost of maintaining the facility. Our legal team shall see how, of course, this fee shall be shared between them and us.”
The PTSC has stopped charging the $1 fee to exit and must refund $50 million that the maxi operators paid over the past nine years.
PTSC chairman Devant Maharaj has the cost of maintaining the facilities is very high, with the Government investing more than $300,000 a month to pay for cleaners, security guards and 25 full time workers just to maintain the facility for taxis. "It costs us over $3.6 million every year to upkeep the hub.” Maharaj said
Maharaj noted that only 75 cents of the $1 fee that the PTSC previously charged went to the transit company with the rest going to the maxi taxi association.
He said the following the judgement the PTSC was ready to stop paying for the services to keep the facility open but the the associations met with the corporation and asked to hold on that decision.
Maharaj told the Sunday Guardian the taxi operators said they appreciated the contribution the state and even supported the idea of a user fee.
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