Taxi drivers in the Territory are being offered training in Passenger Transport Operations from June 19.

The training sessions are a collaborative effort between the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College’s (HLSCC) Workforce Training Division and the Taxi and Livery Commission (TLC).

Director for the TLC, Mr. Dameon Percival said all passenger transport operators can benefit tremendously from the comprehensive programme which provides more information than the previous training sessions.

Mr. Percival said, “In the past, taxi drivers were given a lot of training in customer service but this time we have decided to include different subject matters like business management and history which we feel will enhance their service as true transportation for hire professionals.”

The director stated that based on a planned evaluation of the programme, it could become a prerequisite for anyone wishing to enter the transportation for hire industry.

 “We have a mandate by law, which states that we have to conduct specific trainings and if we see fit, make it mandatory, to improve the industry…Once the first cohort of operators is successful and the programme is evaluated, it may become mandatory.” Mr. Percival explained.

Experienced taxi drivers will be utilised to provide instruction on a few subject areas to help bridge the knowledge gap between operators.

Meanwhile, Coordinator for the programme, Mrs. Dana Lewis-Ambrose of the HLSCC’s Workforce Training Division, said the training includes a mixture of learning modules like foreign language basics, health and safety and effective business communications.

             “In addition to a Certificate of Completion, they will receive identification cards indicating that they are trained and qualified as ‘Passenger Transport Operators’; and that is the new term we are using to classify persons in the transportation for hire industry,” Mrs. Lewis-Ambrose explained.

The introduction of this programme is expected to benefit the Territory’s transportation industry in several ways including:

• Identifying core concepts of high quality service in local passenger transport.
• Improving the quality of the experience of visitors who are dependent on passenger transport services.
• Improving the business development knowledge and skills of passenger transport operators who provide such services.

Interested taxi operators/ passenger transport operators’ are invited to register for the programme at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. The cost is $150 per person and the deadline for registration is June 15. Classes begin on June 19 and will be held Monday to Wednesday from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The course will end on September 27.

For more information about the Passenger Transport Operations training, contact the Taxi and Livery Commission at 468-4090; or the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College at 852-7151 or email VFP@hlscc.edu.vg.

The Taxi and Livery Commission is committed to providing adequate training for all taxi drivers while ensuring that standards are met internationally.

Audi Clips Attached

• Director for the Taxi and Livery Commission, Mr. Dameon Percival
• Coordinator for the Passenger Transport Operator Training, Mrs. Dana Lewis-Ambrose