On July 1, St Croix Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Akeel Philip St. Jean, Esq. and Board Member, John Lewis met with the Governor and the heads of Port Authority, Tourism, and the VI Taxicab Commission Government House to discuss matters pertaining to Tourism. Members of the Senate Economic Development and Agriculture Committee learned Tuesday that the V.I. Taxicab Commission could implement a fuel surcharge in response to high gas prices. Lawmakers also learned that the agency is not prepared for an influx of cruise passengers expected under a proposal by Royal Caribbean.
According to testimony, there’s been discussion about an agreement by the cruise line to increase passenger load to the territory — by tripling the current rate visiting St. Croix and increasing it by 70% on St. Thomas.
Sen. Milton Potter, who acknowledged that word of such an agreement the annual conference in April and asked about transportation concerns. “Do we have the capacity with regards to taxi drivers on St. Croix to accommodate this increase? Are we just going to wait until the day it comes to find out that it is a disaster – that what was slated to be a potential benefit turns out to be a big bust?”
Vernice Gumbs, assistant executive director with the V.I. Taxicab Commission, gave fodder to the senator’s concerns in prepared testimony. “The V.I. Taxicab Commission has struggled and continues to struggle financially to recover since COVID-19 restrictions were first introduced. First, our website was not set up to process online applications and payments, employees were not equipped with the resources to work remotely,” Gumbs said.
The severity of the understaffing is most evident in the commission’s enforcement division where Gumbs said it would take “at least” 10 additional officers “so that we can beef up those officers on St. Croix and then have added officers on St. Thomas to not only cover the ports but also the streets and the taxi stands.”
Notwithstanding the impending influx of passengers, Gumbs said “it has become increasingly difficult” for the commission “to provide the necessary services and generate revenues which has led to the agency’s expenses surpassing its cash-flow and creating a burdensome workload on the limited remaining staff.”
Funding is a huge issue, he said, noting “unfortunately, the commission’s current budget does not allow us to hire additional personnel.”
Myrna George, who serves as Taxicab Commission secretary, acknowledged during testimony that “we need to be prepared with what is happening on St. Croix.”
