This evening I was waiting for my father at Hulhule Ferry Jetty, to go with thim to the airport, to see him off after a visit to Male’. When I called my son, he said they were unable to get a taxi. So I flagged down a taxi and asked the driver whether he could bring a person from a house in Galolhu. He told me that would be 40 Rufiyaa for two trips. I said that would be fine and he went off.

When the taxi came back, I gave him a 100 Rufiyaa note and he returned me change 55 Rufiyaa. A single piece of luggage was put in the dicky, so he had to charge for it.

Then, as we came back from Hulhule, we got down from the ferry and I walked to the second taxi in queue as the driver of the first one was having a smoke. The driver told me that it would be 30 Rufiyaa, perhaps seeing that we had no luggage. We decided to walk to Villingili ferry terminal.

This is the kind of hassle that people have to go through because of a non-existent public transport system in Male’, the capital of Paradise. This is just one of the hassles that people go throught. But, ofcourse it will remain because the Honorable Members of the People’s Majlis and the senior bureaucrats of the government will not have to go through the same hassle. It does not exist on their top priority agenda.

It is not only that, but several other things such as men (fathers, husbands, brothers and boyfriends) having to “taxi” their women to and from work – ofcourse, causing congestion and parking problems, and loss of productivity in the workforce. The situation also creates a real need for each family to have a few motorbikes due to the negligence of agencies responsible for creating a public transport infrastructure.

The situation remains, after multiple studies much advertised in the media and false promises and hopes from various agencies of the government, who also shift blame amongst one another. I guess we would have to wait for God to Will, and then it would happen!

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