AMMAN — The
Syndicate of Owners of Taxi Offices, Internal and External Travel, and Driving
Training Centers said that the promised direct financial support to public
transport operators has been distributed to all taxi operators in the
governorates, but not to those in Amman.
اضافة اعلان
The syndicate’s
statement came in response to the announcement made by Director-General of the
Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LTRC) Tariq Al-Habashneh in July that the
authority will directly support public transport operators to help alleviate
the repercussions of rising fuel prices, which had a direct negative impact on
taxi operators.
The vice-president
of the syndicate, Mohammad Al-Hadid, said that “the subsidy for public
transportation has not been disbursed to public transportation vehicles
operating in Amman, which consist of about 11,000 yellow and 4,000 white cabs.”
“LTRC pointed out
to the syndicate that the subsidy for Amman’s vehicle operators is the Greater
Amman Municipality’s (GAM) responsibility,” he told
Jordan News.
“When GAM was asked
about the subsidy, we were told that the request will be submitted to the Prime
Minister’s Office and that there is no budget allocated to support the sector
at the present time,” he added.
“I believe GAM is
considering raising the public transport fares in order to support the sector
and maybe be able to distribute the subsidy,” Hadid said.
GAM spokesman
Nasser Rahamneh told
Jordan News that the “issue is not settled yet
between the municipality and the commission”.
Regarding the idea
that GAM contemplates raising public transport fares to support the sector,
Rahamneh said that “it is a suggestion still under study. When the decision is
official, GAM will announce it immediately”.
Ahmad, a
48-year-old taxi driver with 15 years of experience, told
Jordan News that the situation is “getting worse for taxi drivers, especially after the
four waves of fuel price hikes we witnessed in Jordan recently”.
“Working as a taxi
driver under the current circumstances is not like it used to be, it’s not
beneficial anymore,” he said, adding that “a onetime subsidy will not solve the
issue; we need to witness real changes in the sector.”
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