Little impact from TAP withdrawal

The service withdrawal by some operators in the Transport Augmentation Programme (TAP) on Monday morning, had a minimal impact on the Transport Board’s service delivery.

That’s the word from its Chief Operations Officer Lynda Holder.

Describing the action as unfortunate, she says the group at the centre of the action, the Tap Operators Association, only represents 42 participants who own 60 of the 146 vehicles in the programme.

The other representative body, the United Transport Co-operative, comprised of ex-Transport Board employees, did not participate in the protest action.

Noting that a number of TAP vehicles have been off the road due to various defects for the last few months, Ms. Holder gave an insight into the numbers.

Ms. Holder also cleared the air on the 12.5% operational fee, which the TAP Operators Association wants waived again.

She says a six month waiver was granted in the height of the pandemic last year when the Board and TAP operators saw a fall off in earnings.

Noting ridership has increased over time, Ms. Holder provided a breakdown of what the fee covers.

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