St. Thomas taxi drivers may soon be able to get their necessary paperwork together again as the Taxicab Commission’s office is set to reopen nearly 11 weeks after it closed, officials said Friday.
The Sub Base office closed March 21 due to “environmental concerns,” said Loretta Lloyd, chairperson of the Commission’s governing board. Taxi drivers said they were forced to operate without proper permitting, facing the very real threat of being ticketed by police in the process. Drivers said it was crippling their business.
Vernice Gumbs, the Commission’s executive director, said the office was cleared of the yet-unspecified environmental concern on May 8, but would not reopen until 8 a.m., June 5.
“Understandably the past couple of months have been challenging on the part of our taxi operators, stakeholders, management, and staff. TCC has been and will continue to remain committed to each and every one of you,” Gumbs said. “We look forward to the resumption of business and working with you in partnership as our transportation ambassadors for the Virgin Islands of the United States.”
Gumbs said her office was identifying and discarding potentially contaminated furniture, to be replaced by pieces borrowed from other Virgin Islands government offices.
She did not explain why an additional four weeks were needed for this process, saying her message was “self-explanatory.”
Lisa M. Alejandro, acting commissioner of the Department of Property and Procurement, said she had offered alternate spaces for the Commission but the taxi folks “lacked the resources to provide services outside of their physical location.”
Gumbs said she’d been scouring available spaces but came up empty-handed.
