Government has re-cently announced that all taxi op-erators who comply with the ‘yellow rule’ and the code of ethics set out in into the new yellow cab driver or operator,” Dr Luncheon said. Meanwhile, as December 31 nears — the deadline for all taxi ser-
new service arrange-ments between itself and vices to go yellow, gov-ernment officials assured
taxi operators will enjoy exclusive access to gov-ernment contracts for transport services.The announcement was made by Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon at his weekly news briefing. He said Cabinet, at its November 2 meeting, recalled and further examined agree-ments with stakehold- owners and drivers that there are more bene-fits than disadvantagesin store for them if they comply.Several taxi service owners and drivers were given this assurance at the signing ceremo-ny of the Code of Ethicsfor Taxi Services and Drivers, on Wednesday at the International
ers in the private trans-port industry, which hasled to the emergence of the ‘yellow cab’ initia-tive. Asked why such adecision was taken, Dr Luncheon explained that the aim is to encourage individuals, companiesand special interests inthe appropriate direc-tion. “We have recognisedthe merits of the ‘yel-low cab’ initiative; and to allow it to achieve maximally what is pos-sible, incentives have al-ways been recognised as a good driver. This is an incentive to encouragethe old cab driver to turn Convention Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara. Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee addressed the gather-ing. He acknowledged that since the ‘go yellow’process started, severalmonths ago, many ser-vices have painted their cars yellow. He added that, despite the initial concerns of several ser-vices and drivers about the cost of the changeand other disadvantages they may face, the ma-jority has finally accept-ed the ‘knowledge and logic’ behind the change. Rohee then assured that the change can bring nothing but “mon-ey in their pockets”, oncegovernment makes it of-ficial. He added that this is why President Jagdeo promised the drivers sev-eral concessions contin-
gent on the switch. These concessions include the waiver of the revenue licence fee for 10 years, and certain parking and traffic concessions. However, Rohee stated that some of these concessions would become effective only af-ter formal amendments are made to the legal system. “This is why to-morrow, at the National Assembly, we will debatethe amendment to the regulations of the Road Traffic Act in order to facilitate the legal installa-tion of the law that will allow not only the con-cessions, but for the yel-low cabs to be enshrined in the act,” he said. The home affairs minister explained that the public, including overseas visitors, tend to listen to authority. As such, when yellow cabs are made the official means of hired travel in Guyana, this couldonly mean an advantagefor the taxi services and their drivers. Rohee added that the Code of Ethics, which outlines the expected be-haviours and modus ope-randi of taxi services and drivers, needs to be im-plemented into their ev-eryday duties. This, he said, is key to the devel-opment of quality service and standards in the hire car business. Tourism, Industryand Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad, who also gave brief remarks,commended the taxi services for a more profes-sional attitude across the board. He made spe-cific mention of the improved standards of the airport taxi drivers, and urged the Taxi ServiceAssociation to continue pushing for the im-provement of standards. He also noted that most services have already be-gun to comply with theCode of Ethics, which had been in their posses-sion for some time now. “Spraying over your car is not a cost, it is an in-vestment. So we must
also ensure that we have adequately trained per-sons to go hand-in-hand with the change,” he said.
Prashad then announced that, as an in-centive, the Tourism
Ministry will reward services and drivers for their compliance with the code. He said that
this code brings Guyana one step closer to beingthe perfect tourist desti-nation. After the ministers’ remarks, Taxi Services Association President Patrick Brassington sug-gested several amend-ments to the code, and those were duly noted.Thereafter, the floor was opened for drivers to make suggestions. After brief dialogue between the drivers and the ministers, all amendments were noted and the code was symbolically signed by those in authority.The Code of Ethics
is comprised of recom-mendations made by theMinistries of Foreign and Home Affairs, the Taxi Drivers’ Association, and other stakeholders. It includes clauses rangingfrom the expectations oftaxi services to the responsibilities of drivers.All taxi services are
expected to ‘go yellow’ byDecember 31. The deadline has been extended twice. Following a meet-ing between President Jagdeo and the taxi driv-ers in September, the fi-nal deadline was set, af-ter which no taxi service will be excused for hav-
ing cars which are notyellow. The code of eth-ics for taxi services and drivers will also be in
full effect after this date.
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