Dear Source:
I feel the taxis are just as annoying, if not more.
Every morning I see them corralling (forcing) our visitors to their cabs, & @ Havensite, the ones that do get through, there is another group across the street that goes back & forth asking where they want to go nearly pushing them into their cabs!
It`s not right to allow one group to annoy our guest & not another! Then, in the afternoon, a barrage of yelling Back to da ship!
I'm tired of getting crammed in a van with a dozen other tourist @ the airport.
I always encounter one (visitor) who does the math, & says something like "Hey, this guys getting $200 for a 20 minute drive!"
I tell them, Yup, their just taxi drivers, & many of them can't read or write!
The driver sooner or later looks back @ me & asks me to quiet down.
I remind the driver many of our visitors make $800 a week, not a day, and they really can't understand why taxi drivers get paid what they do!
I then turn to the puzzled tourist, & tell them how many have the biggest homes here & pay little or no taxes, yet have huge political power!
Then I add there are those who rent/lease taxi Medallions, some have 10 or more!
The driver gets rid of me fast, sucks his teeth & doesn't wait for a tip!
If your going to allow taxis to Bark, you need to allow Barkers to do the same!
You can't favor one annoying group over another.
The taxis cram our streets to a crawl, which doesn't allow visitors/locals/services/mail alike to get around freely.
This greatly adds to the inefficiency, cost, & loss of quality of life to all who come/live here.
So, these taxis also disturb nearly all who live here (or at least those who must pass through Havensite, Downtown, Coral World to name a few.
Their rude, arrogant, self centered, & I feel have a bigger negative impact than anything else here!
Donald Rand
St. Thomas
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