Dear Editor,
We, a group of concerned legal Dutch-side Taxi Drivers, would hereby like to present you with the following information as it relates directly to our daily bread here on St. Maarten.
We recently received information that there are two business ventures in development. These are as follows:
To start an Uber operation on Dutch St. Maarten and to construct a new pier right across from the Princess Juliana Airport that will ferry passengers to and from Anguilla and the other neighboring islands.
There are presently 500 taxi drivers registered on Dutch St. Maarten who earn their income and pay taxes to government to operate here.
Since the hurricanes in 2017, the taxi drivers are barely able to make ends meet as most of the hotel resorts and other smaller properties sustained damages and are closed. The harbor, the damaged airport and downtown Philipsburg are the only areas where taxi drivers could operate and try to earn a living. There is simply not sufficient space and business available to accommodate 500 taxi drivers on St. Maarten.
We are already challenged with the "illegal Gypsies" operations and these two new proposed business ventures in development, will have definitely have a negative impact on the taxi industry on St. Maarten.
Our island is too small to accommodate an Uber operation while there are so many taxi drivers trying to make an honest living. Presently there are taxi drivers who are available around the clock and with social media, contact with drivers is possible 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
By constructing the pier directly across from the Airport will make it possible for the passengers to exit the departure hall and walk straight over to take the ferries. This in turn will have a negative impact on the earnings of the taxi drivers, as they will lose the small fees they made in the past for transporting the passengers to and from the airport to the pier in the former location across from the Winair office.
We are hereby calling on our Government and in particular the honorable Minister of TEATT [Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication – Ed.] , Mr. Cornelius de Weever, to look into this serious matter and try to circumvent these unjust and unfair Business ventures.
We look forward to the full support of Government on St. Maarten and the General Public with our plight to protect the Taxi drivers industry on Dutch St. Maarten.
Name withheld upon request.
