Taxi drivers in St Vincent and the Grenadines who meet a certain minimum standard, will soon be issued with licenses to operate within the tourism sector, by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority (SVGTA).{{more}}

Yesterday, during a press conference, the SVGTA revealed that the standards for taxi drivers have finally been approved.

Chief operating officer Faylene King disclosed that the SVGTA has been working on developing standards for taxi drivers for over a year and a half. She stated that they were informed last week that the standards have been approved and the implementation phase can begin.

“The final draft, which was discussed and agreed upon with the taxi drivers association, that was finalized earlier this year and it had to go before the Board which ratifies the standards… and we got word last week that they were approved,” King said.

“We’d be able to move ahead with…implementing the standards for taxi drivers. They are familiar with the content, but what we usually do is to have training sessions with them to get them more in tune with what is required in the minimum standards and of course, that process involves some inspection of the vehicles, certain other requirements that we expect as part of the minimum standards for service providers and in this case, the taxi drivers”.

The COO explained that once that process was completed, the issuing of licences to taxi drivers can begin.

Glen Beache, chief executive officer, pointed out that the licenses that are being talked about were not the vehicular licences.

“We will be working with the taxi drivers to get them registered as quickly as possible to start that process of making sure that they are licensed. When I say licensed, I’m not talking about vehicular licence…licence by the Tourism Authority to make sure that certain things are in place, like the ID being shown inside the car, them having a sticker showing that they are authorized by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority to provide a taxi driver’s service,” he said.

In his remarks, Beache thanked the Taxi Association and other stakeholders for making the process a smooth one.

“They have worked very well with us and they have approved of these taxi drivers standards also, so I don’t see any problems moving forward with it. I would like to thank the taxi drivers for their assistance and the police officers… and all the stakeholders,” he said.

The process of implementing standards began in 2009. Since then, the SVGTA has been working along with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Bureau of Standards and have been able to develop minimum standards for accommodation, tour guides, tour operators and short-term vehicle rentals.(BK)