Despite the issuance of nearly 1,400 taxi permits in Lautoka and Nadi, residents are expressing frustration over inadequate taxi services.

This concern was highlighted by CEO of the Land Transport Authority Irimaia Rokosawa, during a public consultation on the review of the taxi permit process and operations, held at the RSL Center in Lautoka.

Rokosawa acknowledges the community’s dissatisfaction, stating, that clearly the system is not working as intended.

He emphasizes the need for stakeholder and public input to identify the root causes of these service gaps.

The CEO called for collaboration among all parties involved, urging that barriers to effective public transport must be removed.

Rokosawa says their primary goal is to provide reliable public transport and if there are ongoing complaints about service availability during early mornings and late afternoons, it’s essential that they work together to find viable solutions.

“Coming back to our systems, while the previous system was the taxi barrel draw like I raised in today’s public consultation, certain Fijians who met the requirements, but they didn’t have any intent to run a taxi business. But they applied and they were issued the permits and they just sold it off, so it defeated the whole purpose of issuing the permit in the first place.”

Some concerns raised so far include open base taxi, permits, pari drivers or illegal taxi drivers and base establishment.

Additionally, discussions have centered around the necessity of improving driver behavior and maintaining vehicle standards to enhance passenger safety and service quality.

The LTA is actively listening to the drivers’ concerns, indicating a commitment to collaborating on solutions that will benefit both the taxi community and the traveling public.

More than a hundred people are part of the consultation.