Westmoreland taxi operators in Hertford press government for passable roads

Taxi operators in Hertford, Westmoreland, have taken their frustration to the public square over roads they describe as barely motorable, tying the state of the network to steep running costs, battered vehicles, and fear for people on foot.

Several drivers said they shoulder unusually high outlays to stay legal, including insurance and licence fees, with one putting the combined burden in the region of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars partly because of a young licence history. They argued that with that level of spend they expect a fair surface in return, not a route that batters chassis and burns through repairs.

Women behind the wheel said regular passengers still treat them respectfully, but the economics sting all the same when cars are repeatedly damaged. Others spoke of stretches so broken that vehicles cannot clear dips without help, and warned that if camping out or blocking is what it takes, they are prepared to keep pressure day after day until authorities deliver surfacing work.

Residents echoed that the carriageway is unsafe for the elderly and for people using mobility aids, with holes deep enough that someone on crutches could fall. One operator said a cousin died in circumstances linked to potholes, and that within a short span another person close to them in Maroons had also been lost, with the family marking a year since a death they associate with the poor road. Another fragment of testimony mentioned leaving a bus after a vehicle swerved to avoid a bad patch, underscoring how routine avoidance manoeuvres have become.

Through repeated chants of “We need road,” the group made clear they want justice in the form of engineered repairs, not promises, and insisted the community deserves a motorable link that matches what operators pay to use it.