WILMER JOEL
The Majuro Taxi Drivers Association was accused last week by EPPSO director Fred deBrum of violating the Retail Price Monitoring Act of 1992 by increasing taxi fares over the 25 percent price baseline.
“What the taxi drivers did, they instantly went up to 30 some percent,” said deBrum. “They told me the reason for the increase in taxi fares was because of the increase in fuel prices, that they were not aware of this act, inflation, and there were some other excuses.”
DeBrum’s comments came during a meeting between the taxi drivers association and Deputy Attorney General Johnathan Kawakami at the Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office in Delap.
He went on to say that these various reasons cited by the taxi drivers association do not mean they can violate the Retail Price Monitoring Act. “The act was created for fair prices between the customers and the businesses,” he said. “It is not that we hate the taxi drivers for raising taxi fares, but what we are trying to say is that they need to do it correctly and not break this act.”
MTDA President Annej Ishiguro argued that the purpose of the increase was to improve their salaries. “Our salaries are not two dollars an hour, but two dollars a day to complete our turn-ins with the Chinese,” he said. “When the day’s work is complete, we generate only four or five dollars in income or sometimes nothing at all.”
Thirty to forty dollars per day is the typical amount of the turn-in required by most taxi companies.
“This increase is to help make ends meet for our children who go to school and our families,” said Ishiguro. “We don’t have a job; our only job is driving taxis.”
Deputy Attorney General Kawakami told the representatives of the Taxi Drivers Association to “formalize” their concerns by writing a letter to the seven-member Retail Price Monitoring Board, which is chaired by the director of EPPSO.
DeBrum said that he is willing to bring both sides together into an agreement. “Let’s find a solution that will be good for both sides; let’s not go straight and boom!” (raise prices), he said. “If other businesses boom! you will not be able to afford food.”