Lawmakers Chide Taxicab Commission, Citing No Enforcement, Revenue Shortfalls, and Ongoing Dysfunction

Despite new leadership for the past six months, the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission (TCC) remains operationally challenged, struggling with zero enforcement officers and an outdated, paper-based system. Their budget of approximately half a million dollars is just a third of what the agency truly needs to function, acting executive director Melissa Smith told lawmakers on Monday.

Ms. Smith appeared before the Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance to defend the Commission’s $556,043 FY2026 request. She made it immediately clear, however, that the sum “does not meet the operational funding needs of the Commission.” For a functional Taxicab Commission, she told lawmakers that the “minimum projection is set at $1.5 million.”

With almost $1 million less than it requires, Ms. Smith says TCC’s regulatory arm consists of only two filled positions and is virtually “non-existent.” There are no enforcement officers, which leaves the Commission “facing several significant challenges which are impacting its ability to effectively regulate and support the taxi industry.” Illegal taxi operations are increasing, Ms. Smith said, with a notable surge in unlicensed taxi operators.

Compounding matters, the TCC's “manual, paper-based customer system” is contributing to delays in customer service and revenue collection. Upgrading TCC’s technology to a state-of-the-art system could cost as much as $400,000, a sum obviously not accounted for in its FY 2026 budget request. Relying on the agency's skeleton staff to prepare paper documentation, the Commission has only collected $298,442 as of June 2025. Ms. Smith could not produce updated figures, but assured lawmakers that TCC would come close to its projected revenue of $550,000 by the end of the fiscal year.