Months after a dispute emerged between the Ministry of Transport, the Bahamas Taxicab Union and a group of taxi drivers about promoting its credit card payment services to visitors arriving at the airport, all parties are now in conciliatory talks to resolve outstanding issues.
"We have been given a space in the call up system, so when you come down and you walk out of the airport, you now have the option of one of the first four taxis being a cashless one," John McPhee, owner of Bahamas Taxi, told Guardian Business yesterday.
"And the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) will now allow us to erect two signs at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) that would let visitors know that cashless/credit card payments are available in certain taxis."
McPhee said these "victories" are as a result of filing a lawsuit against the government for refusing to come to the table and a reach an "amicable agreement" in relation to he and other taxi drivers' desire to advertise their more modern payment option to those arriving at the LPIA.
But after appearing before Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett between August and September, all parties were ordered to enter into conciliation. As a result, McPhee said he has been seeing a gradual increase in the number of people offering the service.
"I am optimistic that once the sign goes up at the airport, there will be a surge in business as a result. That will return. But in addition to that, I'm planning a very aggressive island-wide campaign with billboards and other things around the island, so visitors will know that service is available whether they are arriving or leaving The Bahamas," according to McPhee.
"I am in the process of putting another car on the road. And in my projections for this year, I am looking forward to adding as many as another three or four cars to meet the demand that's based on when we began alerting visitors about the service. At the time, we were doing an incredible level of business. I am confident that number will increase even more now in the coming months."
In an interview with Guardian Business back in July, McPhee had said that two-and-a-half years into offering the ability to pay by credit card to his customers, he found that the service has been very popular among those who have used it. However, the same could be said for his and other drivers' efforts to promote the service to visitors. He had also suggested the move to clamp down on those drivers who offered credit card payment options to visitors was anti-progressive and political, allowing the union to sway policy on this front in order to benefit the cash-based taxi drivers in place of the customers who were seeking this service.
McPhee also confirmed that the Road Traffic Department is in the final stages of producing a letter that will be given to NAD officials shortly about posting signage at the airport.
"We expect those conditions to improve," he added.
In order to implement the credit card service, taxi drivers must obtain a business license and get a merchant account from a local bank, in addition to the necessary equipment for their vehicles.
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