Government

Bryan Urged to Take Action on Taxi Cab Commission Board as Senators Hear Complaints, See Challenges

After a contentious meeting on Monday with stakeholders in the taxi industry, Senator Angel Bolques says he and his colleagues are ready to take the next steps in resolving recent and longstanding complaints about the management and governance of the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission. Poor stewardship of the organization, detractors claim, have led to chronic and critical dysfunction in the commission.  At the meeting, convened jointly by Mr. Bolques’s office and that of Senator Donna Frett-Gregory, Taxi Commission Executive Director Vernice Gumbs came in for heavy criticism due to the disruption caused by the closure of the commission’s office in March due to air quality concerns. The keys to the premises had been returned to the Department of Property and Procurement, Ms. Gumbs said, and thus commission staffers had no access to the paper files on which they relied for record-keeping. As such, tax operators cannot renew licenses or register for new vehicles, a predicament some drive...