21/05/2026
STATEMENT BY THE GENERAL SECRETARY VITIMINIBUS COOPERATIVE LIMITED
Vitiminibus Cooperative Limited acknowledges Government’s intervention to subsidise the 22.5 percent bus fare increase and the additional support measures announced for EFL customers, students, social welfare recipients, rural service license providers, and boat operators during the ongoing fuel crisis.
However, we strongly question why minibus and taxi operators have once again been completely excluded from Government assistance despite facing the exact same fuel price increases and economic pressures.
This selective approach is deeply unfair.
Minibus and taxi operators are also part of Fiji’s essential public transport system. Every day, our operators transport workers, school children, market vendors, the elderly, and ordinary Fijians across urban, rural, and remote communities. We continue to serve areas where buses are unavailable, overloaded, or operating on limited schedules.
Yet while buses receive a fully Government-funded subsidy worth millions of dollars each month, minibus and taxi operators are left to absorb the full burden of rising fuel prices, spare parts, tyres, maintenance, insurance, and operational costs entirely on their own.
We ask Government and the FCCC::
Why are minibus and taxi operators being ignored during a national fuel crisis?
Why is one section of the transport industry being protected while another is left struggling for survival?
Many minibus and taxi owners are already operating under severe financial hardship. Some operators are barely managing loan repayments, vehicle maintenance, licensing fees, and family obligations. The continued exclusion of our sector threatens livelihoods and places many operators at risk of financial collapse.
If Government can justify subsidies to maintain transportation services for buses, then fairness and equality demand that minibuses and taxis also receive urgent assistance.
Vitiminibus Cooperative Limited is calling on Government to immediately:
• Extend fuel assistance or transport subsidies to minibus and taxi operators•
-Engage directly with PSV stakeholders before implementing future transport decisions
• Recognise minibuses and taxis as essential transport providers deserving equal support and policy consideration
We fully support measures that help ordinary Fijians during difficult economic times. However, no transport sector should be neglected or treated as less important.
The survival of minibus and taxi operators is equally important to the continuity of Fiji’s transport services.
Sakiusa Delai
General Secretary
Vitiminibus Cooperative Limited
#
