Taxi group head confused by minister’s ‘Probox’ comment

"$72,000 can't even buy di shell of a Probox!" is the blunt response from Lorraine Finnikin, president of the All Voice Taxi Association, refuting a statement made by Finance Minister Fayval Williams.

Williams, while speaking on TVJ's All Angles news programme, suggested that saving $2,000 a month for three years, totalling $72,000 could be enough to buy the popular Probox, which is a staple for taxi operators. But Finnikin said the reality on the ground couldn't be further from the truth.

"Well, I cannot speak on behalf of the minister but common sense would tell me that this is a grave error on her part. Even when the host asked her if she meant $2,000 over three years, which would be $72,000, and she said, 'Yeah, you can buy a 20-year-old Probox'... . Listen, the two statements made there, that must be a mistake," she said. Finnikin didn't hold back as she painted a picture of the costs taxi operators face in their bid to own their own vehicles.

"A 20-year-old Probox? That is something that's just shell, not in any condition whatsoever. Maybe not even good for scrap purposes!" she exclaimed. Finnikin also pointed out that even when working with loan companies, $72,000 wouldn't get drivers very far.

"My organisation has a memorandum with three loan companies that provide loans to PPV (public passenger vehicle) operators, and $72,000 couldn't even make a deposit on any of their loan products," Finnikin explained. "One of the companies takes a 10 per cent deposit, depending on the year and model of the vehicle. But even the cheapest qualifying vehicle would far exceed $72,000 for that deposit."

As frustration grows among taxi operators struggling to make ends meet and secure their own vehicles, Finnikin believes the minister's comments show a serious disconnect from the financial reality on the ground.

"She's going to say you can come off the road and come out in the rain with $72,000? No man, that cannot be something she genuinely wants to say," Finnikin said. Asked whether she considered Williams' remarks an insult to hard-working taxi drivers, Finnikin chose her words carefully.

"I wouldn't say it's a slap in the face unless I could find evidence that she deliberately said it," she noted. "But one thing is sure -- she's out of touch with the price and cost of things. That must be a slip of the tongue." Checks by THE WEEKEND STAR with one popular used car dealer found that at a 2020 Toyota Probox costs approximately $2.2 million. Another dealership said it stopped purchasing Probox more than 5 months ago because they are too expensive.