Utc President – By Tahna Weston
Utc President Warns Poor
The president of the United Taxi Company (UTC) has sounded the alarm over the state of the island’s roads, warning that deteriorating road conditions are causing serious financial damage to transport operators and creating a deeply unfavourable impression of Antigua among international visitors.
Ian Joseph said the transport sector has been absorbing the impact of poor road surfaces for too long, with some of the most frequently travelled routes in urgent need of attention.
He said the situation has been building for some time and that the pace of the government’s road rehabilitation programme is simply not matching the scale of the problem.
“I think I can speak for the whole transportation sector, I mean we are struggling to maintain our vehicles on the existing roads. I know that there has been a plan to improve the road infrastructure. But it’s very slow in coming. I feel it for the guys who have to go to Devil’s Bridge, daily, from the cruise ships on these tours. Their vehicles are definitely taking a beating. There are some roads that need urgent attention,” Joseph said.
Joseph cited Jonas Road and the road to Devil’s Bridge as being very problematic, noting these are routes that operators must travel every single day. He acknowledged and is appreciative that some repair work has begun — including concrete resurfacing on the road to Hermitage Bay, which he personally observed — but said isolated efforts are not enough.
The damage to the island’s reputation, he warned, is already being felt firsthand by drivers on the ground.
“I think we just need to look at the roads that we traverse daily with this product because as an Antiguan, it can be very embarrassing when you get complaints about the roads. There was one guy who told me he travelled the world and these are the worst roads he’s ever seen. And that was not a good feeling for a guest to be telling me that,” the UTC president said.
The financial stakes are made even higher by the fact that the sector made a significant capital investment just months ago. Joseph said approximately one-point-two million dollars was spent on new vehicles at the airport last December, giving the airport fleet what he describes as the newest and best vehicles in Antigua. Placing that investment on damaged roads, he said, makes no economic sense.
He pointed specifically to the road leading to Coco Bay Hotel as an example of infrastructure destroyed by development activity and never repaired.
“And it’s not good for the vehicles after you would have invested all that money just to put them on these roads. We need them to look at the main arteries.
“The road to Coco Bay Hotel was ripped up to put down two RO – reverse osmosis – plants and the roads are just left in such deplorable condition. We cannot be serious with tourism if we are going to do stuff like that. If you rip it up, you need to find time to go and fix it back. It’s very difficult for us to put new vehicles on these roads,” Joseph said.
Joseph is calling on the government to intensify its road repair programme using the loan already taken out for that purpose, and to prioritise the routes most heavily used by the transport sector. Importantly, he said the call for better roads is not solely on behalf of visitors — it is equally a matter of basic civic responsibility to residents.
“But then again, we can’t just look for roads for just our visitors. We also need good roads for even the locals. We pay our taxes and stuff like that. I know that they are looking at it and I’m just saying the public is not impressed with the slow pace. So, we need to get a plan there and get this under control,” Joseph concluded.
The prime minister recently disclosed that work on the deteriorating All Saints Road, which should have commenced last October (2025) has been delayed. Reportedly contract negotiations remain unfinished, despite financing already being secured.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne admitted that contract negotiations with a Canadian contractor for the rehabilitation of All Saints Road have been lengthy, as the Ministry of Public Works pushes to secure the most favourable terms. He confirmed that financing is available through the government’s one hundred million US dollar bond and can be accessed immediately once an agreement is reached, but said work on the ground cannot commence until a contract is formally signed.
The Prime Minister expressed optimism that negotiations could be wrapped up early next month, with the mobilisation process expected to take a matter of weeks thereafter.
The Government had increased vehicle licensing fees in the first quarter of 2025, aimed at funding road infrastructure improvements across Antigua. Larger vehicles such as SUV’s and heavy equipment like trucks and backhoes, attracted a 40 percent increase; while owners of smaller vehicles are subjected to pay $100 extra on annual licensing fees.
