The moratorium by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten for taxi- and bus licences (see related story) is actually not new. In June 2024 she had already announced putting a hold on such.
It was revealed at the time that caps existed of 550 for taxis and 350 for buses, of which respectively 521 and 264 were active. To most people that seems like quite a lot certainly compared to the bigger French side, although one must keep in mind that the island’s main gateways for both aircraft and cruise ships are in St. Maarten.
Moratoria as well as lifting these have been in the news since 2010 and probably even before. In November 2012, then-minister Romeo Pantophlet said he would issue 30 bus and 70 taxi licences before placing a freeze on such.
Four years later, then-minister Ingrid Arrindell reported a moratorium of her own and having denied 384 taxi licence requests.
Then-minister Arthur Lambriex in March 2024 confirmed 142 taxi and 97 bus licences had been given out the prior year. Last July Heyliger-Marten said the Foundation Government Accountants Bureau SOAB and Integrity Chamber were looking into this matter.
No mention of the result was made in today’s report, but the temporary stop now imposed is to allow for a review and strengthening of current policy to “ensure a more efficient, fair and transparent licensing process.” That’s probably a good start, because too often in the recent past have so-called freezes seemed to somehow experience “speed defrost” particularly when elections come around.
