Last year October, we told you how the Belize City Council finally lifted the moratorium on new taxi licenses that they put in place back in 2012. That was to try to cut down on the number of taxis, which up until last year, had ballooned to over 2,000.
Well, since then, City Hall had been working with the taxi operators, encouraging them to form or join taxi associations. That way, the Council can better address their concerns as a group, while assisting them to improve the level of their service delivery to the public.
Today, 5 months after lifting the ban, the City Council unveiled its memorandum of understanding which they intend to sign with different taxi associations. It’s a written commitment on both sides, with the hopes that you, the commuting public, will reap the benefits.
The City Councillor with responsibility for traffic outlined the core elements of this MOU:
Bernard Q. Pitts - City Councillor, Traffic
"The MOU is basically an agreement between ourselves and the taxi operators. It's legally binding and is going to hold us to the level of work that we need to put in and it will also require the level cooperating from the taxi associations and operators. The aim of this memorandum is to create quality network partnership between the Belize City council and the taxi operators and we want to improve the works, we want to improve the service delivery. We have discussed extensively for more than a year almost a year and a half and between ourselves and the taxi operators we've agreed to a service fee which is twenty dollars per member per month. Every single taxi organization that is in this room presently has agreed and are willing to sign on to this agreement. Am I right guys? That's the testament I like to hear. The Belize City Council shall generate an account for each of these associations at a set time when we agree we will collect those funds. We also have in place in this MOU a designated area for each association or union or cooperative. Just let me make it clear here that all those areas will be gazetted in order for us to have full enforcement. So it means then that your space will be your space where ever you are designated to be except for dollar vans who are on the continuous go. We will assist in procuring best prices for logos; we'll provide IDs for taxi men. We'll provide services for them to procure their uniforms, if you notice there are some very nice uniforms they are wearing, polo shirts. I think dollar vans have really out did the guys with getting button down shirts, I'm certain that's pretty costly but at the end of the day in investing in your business, your appearance is what tells a lot. The Belize City Council will assist with economic development of their taxi operating by way of promoting their taxis and assisting in best prices for their services pertaining to like I said before the logo design, printing logo for doors, t-shirts and polo shirts."
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