Taxi cab union head says talks with new minister are ongoing over other outstanding issues
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government over the weekend began the reversal of self-drive (SD) or rental car plates to their original white color, Transport and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis confirmed.
According to Coleby-Davis: “The SD and taxi plates were the same color, yellow, by error. Because the international standard recognizes yellow as taxi plates, it was the SD plates that we ended up changing the color for.
“This process began on Saturday as we called in Avis Car Rental to the Road Traffic Department headquarters to bring all of their cars to begin changing the plates.”
The new SD plates will revert to having a white background with green font.
Former Minister of Labor, Transport and Local Government Dion Foulkes had foreshadowed the move back in March, as taxi drivers at the time expressed concern about rental cars being reportedly used as taxis by some.
The move to revert to original colors has been welcomed by Bahamas Taxi Cab Union President Wesley Ferguson, who told Eyewitness News yesterday: “We had a meeting with the new minister of transport and presented our issues and she promised she would look into the easier one first.
“The easiest one was the change in the SD plates’ color. I was told that the issue was addressed by the former administration and they were going to change the SD plates to white with green writing. That began last Friday.
“It caught me by surprise, but I’m glad it’s finally happening.”
Ferguson added: “It would have been good had the plates been ready from the beginning of October. I don’t know what the process is for those individuals who have already had their vehicle inspected.”
