Taxi drivers and civilians weighed in at the public forum held last night discussing the issue of taxi fares in the greater Male' area.

The forum organized by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, was attended by Minister, Aishath Nahula, as well as numerous taxi drivers and civilians.

Speaking at the forum, a taxi driver expressed his concern that only fuel prices are taken into consideration when calculating taxi fares. He noted that former prices and current cost of living is extremely high.

The taxi driver noted that a paint job previously cost MVR15,000 and that the current price has soared to between MVR30,000 to MVR50,000. He said that rent prices are at an all-time high and requested that inflation of prices for food and necessities be taken into account when calculating how much taxi drivers can earn through fare.

Another taxi driver who spoke at the forum said that it is impossible to take a trip from Male' to Hulhumale' without stopping in under 40 minutes. He said that the current prices fixed by the government based on time taken for the trip is MVR 110 and that the price is therefore not overreaching.

Some taxi drivers noted that majority of the trips taken from Hulhumale' to Male' result in no passengers.

Giving feedback at the forum, a civilian said that the current fixed price of MVR25 for intra-Male' travel is also too high and called for the price to be lowered. He further noted that the quality of a service needs to be taken into account when considering raising the fare.

The civilian who weighed in on the debate said that the taxi fares in Maldives are approximately four times higher when compared to neighboring countries of Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. He said that the price of MVR25 should be lowered based on quality of services provided and noted that various incidents with taxi driver result in disrespect; be it regarding differing views on religion or the location where the passenger needed to end the trip.

A speaker at the forum said that MVR 100 is exorbitant and that no more than MVR75 would suffice as a fixed taxi fare for Hulhumale' to Male' travel.