A group of Lautoka taxidrivers has welcomed the decision by the Government to introduce the open taxi rank system.
In the Revised 2021-2022 National Budget, the Government announced Fiji would remove the base and stand system and adopt the open taxi rank system (OTRS) that would come into effect from April 25.
Lautoka zone taxidriver Tahir Ali said when implemented, over 1000 zone taxi operators in Lautoka would benefit from OTRS.
“This is a very good step because it will give everyone a level playing field and allow us to have more options and opportunities to pick up passengers,” he said.
Fellow cabbie Ashif Ali said he was excited with this new development, which was in the pipeline for more than eight months.
“Now all drivers will be happy and this is a welcome step for the taxi industry,” he said.
“I have been a cabbie for the past 15 years and this new rule will change everything.”
It was also announced that a total of 4222 valid taxi permit holders would now operate from one of the 453 open taxi ranks – 264 existing ranks and 135 new ones.
