The authorities are upping the ante to get taxi operators to go the route of spraying their vehicles in corporate yellow by offering 10-year concessions and extending the deadline for compliance with the new regulation to January 1, 2011.
This emerged from a meeting between President Bharrat Jagdeo and taxi service operators yesterday at the Office of the President (OP) and comes on the heels of compliance deadlines in August and September.
According to a joint statement from OP and the operators, cars attached to a service must be sprayed in corporate yellow by January 1, while those not registered with a service have the option of doing so. However, the private operators will not enjoy the benefits of the concessions if they choose not to go with the prescribed colour.
These include a 25% reduction in excise tax charged on vehicles imported for registration as a yellow cab; a 10-year waiver on motor vehicle licence fee paid by registered yellow cabs; and a 10-year waiver on fitness fee for yellow cabs.
The Guyana Tourism Authority had advised visitors and tourists during the August vacation to use the services of the yellow taxis for their “safety, security and comfort” during their stay in Guyana.
Complying operators had previously been granted a waiver of fees for revenue licences, road service licences, fitness certificates and radio spectrum for a two-year period. That had been conditional on the fulfilment of the usual requirements by the Guyana Revenue Authority and the police.
In addition to personal hire cars, the Home Affairs Ministry notes that the re-spraying mandate does not apply to minibuses and Tapirs that are being used for public transportation.
Last year, Jagdeo met the owners of taxi services countrywide to discuss measures to modernise the service. Several proposals were made including installing meters to determine mileage and cost, uniforms, installing flex glass, banning passengers from the front seat and installing the service’s official logo. It was reported that the government also plans to fund training sessions on first aid and customer service for taxi drivers.
