Other Rules to Come on Stream for Water Taxis

Merlene Martinez

Additional regulations that are set to come into effect as of September sixteenth include an approved safety management and emergency response plan, as well as the outfitting of each vessel with safety and communication equipment.  They are also required to have onboard a pair of functional engines.

Merlene Martinez, Ports Commissioner

“There are various dates that these measures will take effect, not all of them are immediate.  For instance, and I am sure you will get to that passenger user fee, the passenger user fee will take effect from September first and people ask why we have a passenger user fee?  It’s for the reason that you have any fee.  We need to increase or improve on our presence on the sea, at the water taxi terminals.  Right now we are looking, we need to have a presence in Caye Caulker, you need to have a presence in Dangriga, we need to have a presence, you know, in different places where we do not have a presence at this time.  And so, these things cost.  That’s the bald truth.  So the fee is to ensure that we can employ an adequate number of persons to regulate the operations of water taxis. That’s basically it.”

Isani Cayetano

“It is being made to seem that for some operators the decision was either rolled out in an ad hoc manner considering the fact that perhaps there should have been some measure of public awareness in terms of the passengers who commute using these vessels and they are saying that essentially the Port Authority perhaps failed in creating the sensitization necessary for the public.  How do you respond to that?”

Merlene Martinez

“And we will take that criticism, hopefully in the spirit in which it is tendered.  But I can say, it would have been good to have gotten a feedback along the way rather than at this point in time where we say okay we’re good to go and you when you say we are good to go.”