The Department of Commerce has received complaints from members of the public concerning an increase in taxi fares that the Commerce Commission has never approved.
On investigation by KHJ News we discovered that an association of taxi operators has been formed and has released their own taxi fare schedule which went into effect on May 1st.
The person behind the taxi fare increase is Tuitamai Emmanuel Ulberg who is the chairman of the Taxi Owners Association and heads the Toa o Samoa taxi stand.
The Department of Commerce says that the rate increase was never reviewed or approved by the Commerce Commission which is charged by law to set rates for public transport like buses and taxes.
According to the Taxi Owners Association’s 6-page rate schedule, all fares start from Pago Pago International Airport. Some examples of the TOA taxi fares:
- to Aveina Store in Nu’uuli – $6
- to the hospital- $16
- to the Fagatogo Marketplace – $25
- to the cannery -$30
The most expensive fare in the schedule is $100 from the airport to Onenoa.
If you wanted to hire a taxi the rate is $30/hour and any stops would cost $1 for stops of 1-5 minutes.
For tours, one passenger per hour costs $50, for 2 passengers its $35/hour per person and it goes down to $25/hour for three passengers and $20/hour for four passengers.
The rate schedule also charges for cargo that the passenger takes with him/her in the taxi.
A wholesale shopping case and laundry basket is $1 each, an oven or refrigerator is $10, oversize fish is $5 , furniture will be charged $5 per piece.
In a brief telephone interview with the Chairman of the Taxi Owners Association Tuitamai, he said that there’s no price control in the territory and as far as their association is concerned they have met the requirements of the law in publicizing the rates on another radio station.
KHJ News pointed out that every rate increase requires public hearings and the Commerce Commission has to approve any increase in taxi or bus fare rates following the administrative law process.
But he insisted that their association has been registered and he doesn’t see why taxis are subject to price control when other businesses aren’t.
He said the taxi rates are determined by the taxi owners because they know the costs involved, like the wear and tear on their vehicles, road conditions and the costs of vehicle parts and mechanic services.
Tuitamai said that all members of their association have endorsed the new rate schedule which he said they are now charging.
However other taxi stand operators KHJ News has spoken to dispute Tuitama’i’s claim that all taxi stands have endorsed the new rates. They say they are still charging the old fares as they are well aware of the law.
Click here for current taxi fares approved by Commerce CommissionCommerce-Commision-Rates
Click here for the TOA rate scheduleMr.-Ulbergs-Rates
