Taxi Union President: “We Will Not Allow This Government and Minster to String Us Along”

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A week after a protest brought traffic to a standstill outside Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union says the meeting it was promised has come and gone, with little to show for it.

Tyrone Butler – President, Bahamas Taxi Cab Union

“We’re not gonna rest here, I can tell you that now. This is not something that we are gonna just sit idly by and allow this government and this minister to string us along with a bunch of empty promises.”

“What we were demonstrating for on the issues that were on the table for us, the burning issues, the hot button issues, we still haven’t got any redress to.

Butler also takes aim at Livery Drivers Association President Tory Austin, accusing him of being too willing to side with the ministry.

Tyrone Butler – President, Bahamas Taxi Cab Union

“This guy is humoring the minister, and leaning around like a poodle, just telling him what he wanna hear. And he come in and trying to talk to us and tell us, oh, he meet with this one, he this and that. I said, minister, a lot of the things that you’re saying to me, I’ve heard them before.”

At the heart of the dispute, the union maintains that livery drivers should not be allowed to operate alongside licensed taxis in designated taxi queues.

Tyrone Butler – President, Bahamas Taxi Cab Union

“Nothing in the law allows for livery drivers to be on the same line as taxis. Nowhere on this island you will ride around and see a yellow marking or painting on the road that says livery. You will only see taxi or bus or a loading zone.”

With no immediate changes in sight according to Butler, he says the union is preparing for a fight.