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According to Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz, a trend has emerged whereby more and more people are using these vehicles for special occasions like weddings and graduations.
Yet, current laws do not cover them, meaning users may face unique risks and there is a need to hold up by imposing regulation.
The Minister said the new Motor Vehicles Road and Traffic Bill 2014 has a new provision setting out a definition for ?chartered vehicles?. Such a vehicle is a hired vehicle other than a hiring car, maxi taxi or private school bus with seating accommodation for 11 or more passengers.
?The current legislation makes no such provision,? Cadiz said, piloting the bill ? which was passed in the House of Representatives last month ? in the Senate. ?You have people hiring out what we know as a stretch limo. We see people doing it for weddings. We see people doing it for graduations now and that is a big thing. But these stretch limos, currently, have no legislation that covers them. It?s outside of a taxi. It is too small to be a maxi taxi. Yes, it is a service that is being used by many many people. Yet still there is no legislation that actually covers these stretch limos. So they still have to go under the ?H? car, but they are not operating like a route taxi.?
?Because of the size of the vehicle where you have ten or eleven operating in the vehicle, they don?t operate like a tourist taxi as we know it,? Cadiz said. ?With the chartered vehicle coming in, we actually position these vehicles under that heading. Finally, they will now be part and parcel of the mainstream registration.?
Stretch limousines are rented by various companies. One company, Statement Limousine Service, offers a 20-passenger Cadillac Escalade at a rate of $7,000 for up to four hours (exclusive of return trip). A full service 18-passenger Hummer costs $7,000 for up to four hours (a complimentary non-alcoholic bar is included). A company in central Trinidad offers a six-hour service at $6,000.
?We are talking about up to 200 vehicles that are currently being used like this,? Cadiz told Newsday during the Senate lunch-break. ?The issue with this are things like insurance and so on. A route taxi or a maxi taxi has a particular way they have to operate and these limos fall out of the loop.?
The legislation would explicitly subject the limousines to motor vehicle taxes for ?hired vehicles, hiring cars or chartered vehicles?. Also, drivers will have to hold licences which specifically authorise them to drive such vehicles.
On the number of cars in the country generally, Cadiz said for this year, there have been 20,000 vehicles registered. By way of comparison, the total for last year was 33,000.
But if cars and limousines are big business, the State is also poised to reap big profits through the enforcement of a more efficient system of licensing under a Motor Vehicles Authority, which is proposed under the legislation.
According to Cadiz, a more efficient alternative to the Licensing Office could see revenues generated through the payment of fees jump from $160 million to $300 million.
?This will not be by raising taxes, but just by ensuring that people do, in fact, pay their fees,? Cadiz said. ?All the money due would come to the Motor Vehicle Authority.?
Cadiz said the retirement age for drivers will be taken up to 70 years, meaning renewals will only have to be done after that year every two years. He said there were 1,628 vehicle renewals last year.
Zero tolerance for new drivers and for drivers of public vehicles will be implemented, he said once more, in relation to blood alcohol levels. All passengers will have to wear seatbelts. Cadiz said the State opted against banning having distractions ? in the form of teenage friends in cars ? given cultural considerations.
And big vehicles will, for the first time, not have to be driven to one location for regulation.
?You have some very large fleet management companies in Trinidad and Tobago,? Cadiz said. ?Instead of having to haul 200 trucks down to a licensing office, there is provision for a licensing office to come to your particular facility and to do a full inspection.? Also, new car dealers will be able to call for inspections at a particular new car dealership site.
Vehicle trader registration and regulation of rentals will also be introduced.
?This is a revolutionary bill,? the Transport Minister said.
Yet, current laws do not cover them, meaning users may face unique risks and there is a need to hold up by imposing regulation.
The Minister said the new Motor Vehicles Road and Traffic Bill 2014 has a new provision setting out a definition for ?chartered vehicles?. Such a vehicle is a hired vehicle other than a hiring car, maxi taxi or private school bus with seating accommodation for 11 or more passengers.
?The current legislation makes no such provision,? Cadiz said, piloting the bill ? which was passed in the House of Representatives last month ? in the Senate. ?You have people hiring out what we know as a stretch limo. We see people doing it for weddings. We see people doing it for graduations now and that is a big thing. But these stretch limos, currently, have no legislation that covers them. It?s outside of a taxi. It is too small to be a maxi taxi. Yes, it is a service that is being used by many many people. Yet still there is no legislation that actually covers these stretch limos. So they still have to go under the ?H? car, but they are not operating like a route taxi.?
?Because of the size of the vehicle where you have ten or eleven operating in the vehicle, they don?t operate like a tourist taxi as we know it,? Cadiz said. ?With the chartered vehicle coming in, we actually position these vehicles under that heading. Finally, they will now be part and parcel of the mainstream registration.?
Stretch limousines are rented by various companies. One company, Statement Limousine Service, offers a 20-passenger Cadillac Escalade at a rate of $7,000 for up to four hours (exclusive of return trip). A full service 18-passenger Hummer costs $7,000 for up to four hours (a complimentary non-alcoholic bar is included). A company in central Trinidad offers a six-hour service at $6,000.
?We are talking about up to 200 vehicles that are currently being used like this,? Cadiz told Newsday during the Senate lunch-break. ?The issue with this are things like insurance and so on. A route taxi or a maxi taxi has a particular way they have to operate and these limos fall out of the loop.?
The legislation would explicitly subject the limousines to motor vehicle taxes for ?hired vehicles, hiring cars or chartered vehicles?. Also, drivers will have to hold licences which specifically authorise them to drive such vehicles.
On the number of cars in the country generally, Cadiz said for this year, there have been 20,000 vehicles registered. By way of comparison, the total for last year was 33,000.
But if cars and limousines are big business, the State is also poised to reap big profits through the enforcement of a more efficient system of licensing under a Motor Vehicles Authority, which is proposed under the legislation.
According to Cadiz, a more efficient alternative to the Licensing Office could see revenues generated through the payment of fees jump from $160 million to $300 million.
?This will not be by raising taxes, but just by ensuring that people do, in fact, pay their fees,? Cadiz said. ?All the money due would come to the Motor Vehicle Authority.?
Cadiz said the retirement age for drivers will be taken up to 70 years, meaning renewals will only have to be done after that year every two years. He said there were 1,628 vehicle renewals last year.
Zero tolerance for new drivers and for drivers of public vehicles will be implemented, he said once more, in relation to blood alcohol levels. All passengers will have to wear seatbelts. Cadiz said the State opted against banning having distractions ? in the form of teenage friends in cars ? given cultural considerations.
And big vehicles will, for the first time, not have to be driven to one location for regulation.
?You have some very large fleet management companies in Trinidad and Tobago,? Cadiz said. ?Instead of having to haul 200 trucks down to a licensing office, there is provision for a licensing office to come to your particular facility and to do a full inspection.? Also, new car dealers will be able to call for inspections at a particular new car dealership site.
Vehicle trader registration and regulation of rentals will also be introduced.
?This is a revolutionary bill,? the Transport Minister said.
