Taxi Drivers Threaten to Demonstrate against Proposed Toll Hike in San Pedro

Gualberto “Wally” Nunez

San Pedro taxi operators are up in arms in San Pedro and are threatening to demonstrate in protest a proposed increase in toll fees for the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge on the island. As viewers may remember, there is a fee to cross over to the north side. In July, an announcement was made by the Town Council that a new monthly fee of three hundred and fifty dollars would be instituted and commercial vehicles would have to make that payment at the Town Hall which would issue them a pass, similar to your license sticker. Well, various stakeholders have reacted to the hike and today when we spoke to Mayor Wally Nunez, he says that the fee has been reduced.

Gualberto “Wally” Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“It is not three-fifty for the taxis. We have adjusted all of those fees. The taxis are one-fifty per month. We adjusted for the golf cart rentals; we’ve adjusted for the private vehicles, with the exception of golf carts and motorcycles which would be free of cost. But I am going to be sending a press release on that, but we adjusted all of that with the consultation of the different stakeholders. But Duane, the situation with the bridge is very important. The bridge is in a state that it is about to collapse and we can’t afford that. The north of the island is already a booming area for the tourism. We know that everybody goes to Secret Beach, everybody plans to go up north during the weekends and there is a lot of business up north that would lose if something would happen to that bridge. That bridge is no longer a luxury to cross over; now it is a necessity.”