Mixed views on using ID on water taxis
The new photo identification requirement to travel on the water taxi is receiving mixed reviews by those using the service.
When Guardian Media spoke recently with several passengers at the San Fernando Terminal, a few of them were still unaware they needed an official form of ID to travel.
The new protocol was announced by NIDCO last Friday, August 30th.
One person we spoke with, who has been travelling on the water taxi since 2009, said she isn’t happy with the new regulation, and called it an inconvenience.
“It’s cumbersome. It makes the boarding process a little longer,” passenger Louise Poy Wing told Guardian Media. “Since the inception of the Water Taxi Service, we haven’t had to do that. But it’s because of the regulations. It’s not really the Water Taxi Service itself, and it’s not NIDCO, but Marime Services [enforcing this requirement].”
But another passenger, Betsy Samai-Ramsingh, gave the system a thumbs up, because she believes it will benefit passengers.
“I think it is for insurance purposes,” she said. “So, it’s a practice that’s for our safety, and eventually it could work out for our benefit.”
The new measure requires people 16 years and over, to present a valid government-issued photo ID—such as a driver’s permit, national ID card, or passport—to board the vessel.
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