[File Photo]
The Taxi Association says it never asked for a temporary increase and instead sought a permanent review based on the full cost of operating a taxi.
Its submission proposed a permanent distance rate of $1.50 per kilometre.
Instead, FCCC introduced the temporary $1.40 rate and required operators to recalibrate their meters.
The Association says operators paid about $50 each for the recalibration, testing and sealing of their meters.
It says the process took three weeks to a month in many areas because there are too few authorised meter service providers.
Operators will now have to pay again to return their meters to the old rate before October 1.
Faiyaz says FCCC has created an unnecessary financial and administrative burden for operators.
The Association is questioning who will reimburse operators for the second recalibration and the working hours lost while waiting in queues.
It also argues that FCCC’s own position against frequent fare changes makes the decision difficult to justify.
The Commission states frequent changes are impractical because meters must be reprogrammed and calibrated.
The Association says FCCC has now ordered two nationwide recalibrations within three months.
The Fiji Taxi Association is calling for the $1.40 rate to remain until a permanent fare review is completed.
It wants the review to consider fuel, tyres, parts, maintenance, labour, insurance, depreciation, financing, vehicle replacement, empty return journeys and waiting time.
It also wants FCCC to publish the evidence and methodology used to determine the permanent fare.
The Association is further calling for action against illegal operators who compete with licensed taxis without carrying the same regulatory costs.
Faiyaz said the travelling public had largely accepted the July increase and understood that taxi fares had remained unchanged for years.
The Association says affordable public transport should not be achieved by forcing small taxi operators to subsidise passengers through uneconomic fares.
It argues that if government considers affordable taxi transport a public good, any subsidy should be transparent and publicly funded.
The Association is now consulting its lawyers on possible legal action over the decision and the financial losses it says operators will face.
It will also consult members on possible lawful collective or industrial action if FCCC refuses to reconsider.
Faiyaz says legal or industrial action is not the Association’s first choice but he operators cannot be expected to provide an essential service indefinitely at rates that do not allow them to earn a decent living.
The Association’s position is clear, the $1.00 distance rate is a 2011 rate and should not be restored.
Meanwhile, Taxi fares will return to their previous authorised rates from October 1, with the interim fare increase set to end on September 30.
The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission had said that the temporary adjustment was introduced in July to help taxi operators manage higher fuel costs.
