Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
Visitors in the Turks and Caicos will now have direct access to a list of credible taxi drivers with the rollout of a multi-pronged “Rate Your Ride” system. The initiative comes on the heels of an attack on a tourist weeks prior.
The government is providing both information and allowing for feedback from tourists under the new system.
The information rollout via social media instructs tourists on the necessary identification to look for including license plates, TIDES ambassador cards and approved drivers licenses before accepting a ride. It is being shared widely on the government’s social media channels.
Also detailed, is how to use the mandatory tides cards which much be carried by all registered drivers. Each card will have a QR code which will take visitors to a list of approved drivers registered with the ministry of tourism’s regulations department.
The feedback section of the system uses a QR code which leads to a simplified portal allowing guests to use an online forum where they can rate the cleanliness, comfort, safety and professionalism of their drivers.
The ministry has not indicated how these ratings will be collated and whether consecutive negative or positive responses will have an effect on drivers’ public transportation licenses.
The rollout comes days after a New Jersey woman went public about being beaten two weeks ago in an attack by a man claiming to be a taxi driver.
Suyapa Ramos went to ABC news with her story after she was brutally assaulted. The woman said the attacker growled as he beat her, but was adamant that there were no sexual advances.
”I fought for my life, it was so scary to feel yourself so close to death,” the mother said after leaving the Turks and Caicos.
Police arrested her alleged attacker Davidson Martin, who Ramos says pretended to be a taxi driver. Residents say he is an illegal jitney, part of a group of mainly men who operate unlicensed cars as public transport vehicles while not having the legal right to do so.
Some may just be trying to make a quick buck but others have more nefarious plans evidenced by repeated warnings from the police to residents. Early this year, at least two women reported being assaulted by a male driver operating a jitney; one had to jump from the moving car.
It’s clear with the new rollout, the government is hoping to avoid the confusion which can be dangerous.
The QR codes are available on the government’s social media at My Experience TCI on Facebook.
