分类： society

A sudden industrial action by maxi-taxi operators in Trinidad and Tobago left thousands of travelers stranded in the capital Port of Spain on Wednesday, prompting a rapid, public-spirited intervention from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) to ferry stranded people, particularly vulnerable groups, safely to their homes.

By 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, TTPS police buses had already begun pulling out of the City Gate transit hub in central Port of Spain, prioritizing women, school children, elderly residents, and people with disabilities for trips to key destinations along the densely populated East-West Corridor, including the major town of Arima. Senior TTPS leadership personally oversaw the launch of the emergency relief operation, with Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Specialised Support) Brian Soodeen on-site to coordinate logistics and speak with affected commuters.

In an on-site interview, Guevarro explained that the emergency transportation effort was planned from early that morning, after the TTPS leadership anticipated that the protest would leave thousands stuck in the capital. After a morning risk assessment that concluded leaving large crowds of stranded people in Port of Spain overnight would create unnecessary public safety risks, the service mobilized every available police bus to address the gap. “I spoke with ACP Brian Soodeen early yesterday morning, and we mobilized all readily available police buses to help get people home. Right now we have five buses on the road, but I wish we had 50 to meet the full demand,” Guevarro told reporters.

He emphasized that the 2:30 p.m. launch was intentional, timed to coincide with the end of the school day to get vulnerable children and older residents out of the capital as quickly as possible. The operation planned multiple round trips between Port of Spain and Arima throughout the afternoon and evening, with Guevarro confirming the TTPS would continue providing support for as long as the protest disrupted transit services. He also pushed back against any suggestions that the operation exceeded the TTPS’s mandate, framing the intervention as a core part of the service’s mission to serve the public.

“People often think of the police only as law enforcers, but today we are proving that we are here to help the public in any way we can when a crisis arises,” Guevarro said. “This service is completely free to commuters, and we made this decision because it was the right thing to do for public safety. The end justifies the means here. We also made sure to retain enough personnel and resources to respond to any other emergencies across the country while this operation runs.”

Soodeen, who oversaw the implementation of Guevarro’s initiative, added that all drivers and personnel assigned to the operation had received full safety briefings before departing, to ensure every passenger reached their destination without incident. “The Commissioner anticipated the risk of stranded commuters early this morning, so we had time to put this operation in place before the situation escalated,” Soodeen said. “We will continue to provide this support as long as it is needed.”

The emergency response was widely praised by stranded commuters, who described the TTPS’s intervention as a timely, thoughtful solution to an unexpected crisis. Sandra Maharaj, a 68-year-old resident of Sangre Grande who was stuck in Port of Spain when the protest began, said she had been terrified she would be unable to get home, as many local residents do not have private cars or access to alternative private transport. “I have to commend the police for what they did today. When I heard about the protest, I was so worried about how I would get home. A lot of us don’t have cars, and we don’t have relatives who can just drop everything to come pick us up,” Maharaj said. “The officers saw the problem and acted immediately. That meant the world to people like me.”

Russel Thomas, 74, of Arima, said the priority given to vulnerable groups showed the TTPS had carefully planned the response to avoid harm. “People came into Port of Spain for work, medical appointments, business, and suddenly they had no way home. With the daily crime reports we see, I was worried we would see muggings or pickpocketing in the crowd here at City Gate. The police stepped in at exactly the right time,” Thomas said. “Giving priority to children and the elderly wasn’t what everyone wanted, but it showed they had a clear plan to help the people who needed it most. The Commissioner and his officers absolutely deserve credit for this.”

Jeremy, a commuter from St Augustine who declined to give his full name, added that the operation showed a side of the TTPS that the public rarely sees. “We usually see police when there’s a crime, an accident, or during protest operations, so it’s not often positive press for them. But today, no matter what you think of the service, you have to commend them. They saw a crisis developing and acted before it got out of hand,” he said.

Since the start of 2024, Trinidad and Tobago has recorded 20 fatalities resulting from police use of force, with more than two-thirds of those deaths occurring in the 12 weeks following the implementation of a national state of emergency (SoE) that took effect on March 3. As of May 30, the death toll from police-involved shootings during the emergency period stands at 14, a count that has climbed steadily even as multiple families of deceased suspects have publicly disputed official police accounts of the incidents and demanded transparent, independent probes into the killings.

A grassroots movement demanding accountability for the deaths of Kaia Sealy and Joshua Samaroo is moving forward with plans for a nationwide civil society shutdown on June 5, organizers confirm, despite increased government restrictions and official pushback under a national state of emergency. Leading demonstration organizer Alyssa Phillip has remained unbowed by authorities’ recent efforts to curb public action, including the creation of official no-protest zones by police and her own recent arrest while protesting.

Phillip was taken into custody last Wednesday during a demonstration held outside the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office in Port of Spain, and she is set to appear before a local magistrate to face her charges on the same day she spoke to reporters for this update. In a telephone interview, Phillip made clear that the push for justice has not been silenced by law enforcement action, noting that the movement has adapted its tactics to meet growing restrictions. A silent gathering held in St. James this past Friday, for example, was intentionally structured to symbolize the widespread silence of community members who have not yet spoken out against the injustices at the heart of the campaign.

The core demand of the movement stretches far beyond the individual cases of Sealy and Samaroo, Phillip explained. At its root, the campaign is a fight for fundamental fairness and public trust in Trinidad and Tobago’s national institutions, most notably the country’s justice system. To that end, the June 5 shutdown calls on all members of the national community to opt out of work, school and all routine public activities, and to share their participation on social media to build momentum. This peaceful, low-risk approach was specifically designed to accommodate those who fear repercussions from joining in-person public demonstrations, Phillip added, opening participation to a far broader cross-section of the public.

Phillip also addressed recent public comments from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, noting that while she holds deep personal respect for the Prime Minister, the movement has been disappointed by what she describes as a lack of meaningful empathy and action on the Sealy case. Most critically, the organization has pushed back hard against the Prime Minister’s recent allegations that the movement has ties to violent criminal activity. Persad-Bissessar recently claimed that opposition lawmakers, union leaders, entertainers and movement supporters were actually backing a plot to unite violent criminal gangs against law enforcement and law-abiding citizens. Those claims grew out of a circulating video that called on rival gangs to end their internal conflicts to push back against a systemic policy of political divide and rule, not to target civilian or state institutions.

In her response, Phillip flatly rejected all claims of gang affiliation for the movement’s leading activists, emphasizing that all residents hold a fundamental democratic right to speak out on public injustice and organize peaceful protest. She also closed the interview by offering public thanks to the high-profile artists who have already added their voices to the movement, including popular soca performer Nailah Blackman, whose public support has helped bring national attention to the campaign’s demands.

Starting Monday, thousands of daily commuters across Trinidad and Tobago are bracing for significant travel disruptions, as maxi-taxi operators from all six national routes have launched a three-day work stoppage framed as a “rest and reflection” action to push for long-delayed government action on decades of unresolved industry issues.

Vernell Carter, Assistant Secretary of the Association of Maxi Taxi Trinidad and Tobago (AMTTT), confirmed the industrial action last week, noting it will run through Wednesday. Carter added that the strike will be called off immediately only if the government delivers formal documentation laying out a clear, reasonable timeline to address the full list of operator demands. Approximately 5,000 maxi-taxis provide core public transport across the twin-island nation, meaning the shutdown will leave tens of thousands of workers, students and daily travelers without their regular transport option, and place extra strain on the few remaining operating transit services.

During the three-day action, AMTTT executive members will gather at the Route Two (red band) compound at Port of Spain’s City Gate and the Route One (yellow band) compound on South Quay, with drivers from all other routes invited to attend the organized gathering. Carter highlighted that one core demand is the construction of dedicated transit hubs for every maxi-taxi route, a need that has gone unmet for smaller routes for years. “The other routes don’t have a hub to gather in, to sit down and rest and reflect, so they would be up on our side between Route One and Route Two,” Carter explained, noting the existing facilities offer amenities including a cafe and television that will accommodate visiting drivers throughout the action.

Operators have laid out a broad set of long-standing grievances that have prompted the shutdown. Top concerns include rampant illegal competition from unlicensed “PH” vehicles and unauthorised white buses that operate on routes legally reserved for maxi-taxis. Operators have also been pushing since 2021 to raise the maxi-taxi speed limit from 65 km/h to 80 km/h, and are calling for clear, standardized regulations for transferring public service vehicle licences in cases of owner death, serious illness, amnesty programmes and open transfers. Additional demands include: the upgrade and improved management of maxi-taxi stands and dedicated hubs across all routes; full payment of outstanding dues owed to maxi-taxi operators that provide contracted school transport services; clearly marked pick-up and drop-off zones, particularly in the capital Port of Spain; permission for maxi-taxis to use overpasses and priority routes currently restricted to Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) buses; revised, more accessible National Insurance contribution arrangements for self-employed operators; clear legal guidelines for on-board radio communication systems; enhanced safety and security measures for both drivers and passengers during overnight trips; and simplified application processes for intra-city service passes.

The timing of the strike has sparked urgent concern from education stakeholders, as the action coincides with ongoing CSEC and CAPE examinations for secondary school students. Crystal Ashe, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), said the shutdown poses major disruptions for daily commuting teachers and exam-taking students. “Our teachers and students use this service daily and it will definitely impact on them,” Ashe said, noting that parents of exam candidates will need to make alternate travel arrangements at short notice.

Ashe also confirmed that TTUTA supports operators’ demand for immediate payment of $10 million in outstanding school transport dues, noting that operators have only received two weeks of payment so far this year – a parallel to the delayed backpay owed to many public school educators. “TTUTA asks that the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education get their house in order and pay all persons their outstanding monies immediately. Citizens cannot take promises to the groceries and financial institutions,” Ashe said, adding that he remains hopeful that productive negotiation between the government and operators can still deliver a positive resolution.

Walter Stewart, President of the National Parent-Teacher Association (NPTA), echoed that concern, saying the strike deeply worries parent leaders and has prompted the association to call for a pause in industrial action during the critical exam period. “The NPTA fully acknowledges and respects the rights of maxi-taxi operators to pursue legitimate avenues to address their challenges relating to school maxi-taxi payments, hub development revitalisation and management, policy guidelines on [licence] transfers and other concerns which have persisted across successive administrations,” Stewart said. However, he added, “Our students have toiled and prepared diligently for these exams and any disruption has the potential to cause unnecessary anxiety, uncertainty, disadvantage and inequity.”

Stewart urged the government to immediately roll out contingency transport plans to ensure affected students can reach their exam centres on time, and called on both sides to enter urgent good-faith negotiations to resolve the outstanding issues that led to the strike.

All six color-coded maxi-taxi routes are participating in the three-day action: red band (Route Two), the largest route with roughly 2,000 vehicles serving the Eastern Main Road and Priority Bus Route between Port of Spain, Arima and Sangre Grande; yellow band (Route One) serving Port of Spain, St James, Carenage, Chaguaramas, Diego Martin and Petit Valley; green band connecting Port of Spain, Central Trinidad and South Trinidad through Chaguanas, Couva and San Fernando; black band serving the route from San Fernando through Princes Town to Mayaro; brown band running from San Fernando to La Romaine, Siparia, Penal, Cedros and Point Fortin; and blue band, which operates exclusively across Tobago.