Taxi permit barrel draw to be re-drawn for previously unsuccessful applicants in September this year

Land Transport Authority’s Chairman Vijay Maharaj says they will soon conduct the barrel re-draw for the previously unsuccessful applicants during the barrel draw for taxi permits in September this year in Lautoka.

He says people were provided an amnesty period to surrender their taxi permit if it was obtained dishonestly.

Maharaj says seven people have surrendered their permits and over 75 people out of the 103 that they had identified have provided a further submission to LTA justifying that they were entitled to those taxi permits.

He says they are currently looking into these submissions and once this is complete the date for the barrel re-draw will be announced.

In a statement in October this year, LTA had said that the re draw will give honest Fijians who missed out in the first barrel draw the opportunity to be awarded taxi permits that were obtained dishonestly by some recipients.

It says the re drawn permits will be made available based on the quota within each transport zone.

LTA says successful applicants who were granted provisional taxi permits during the barrel draw in September after filing honest and accurate applications will still be granted their substantive taxi permits after the re draw has been held.

Meanwhile, Maharaj confirms people can now collect application forms for taxi permits in the Central Division and further details regarding the barrel draw will be revealed later.