In the USA the price of 1 liter of petrol is about 22 dalasi; in thye Gambia 33 dalasi that is in fact appr. 50% too expensive. Who collects this money? In any country with a free and fair economical competition an organisation telling its members (in this case taxi drivers) how much to charge for their services would be illegal because agreements on prices keeps these prices artificially high which is NOT in the interest of the general public. Any government has the duty to serve their population.

WILL YOU PLEASE POST THE NEW RATES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE ABROAD.

In Europe petrol is between 40/50 dalasi per litre with gas oil being 50/60 dalasi per litre.
(unfortunately the filling stations will not accept dalasis so you have to pay with pound or euros).
The price of oil is on an upwards spiral with record prices for a barrel being hit almost every other day, it is currently around $146 ,but expectations of it hitting $200 by the end of this year have been expressed by a member of one of the middle eastern oil exporting countries last week and some industry commentators say the price could double by this time next year, so the best thing to do would be to forget about taxis and cars and invest in a bicycle now while they are still available.

I think this topic is generating a lot of ideas. The issue the ordinary Gambian is concern about is the earning power is not receprcal to the cost of living. People are have hard time making enough to feed their families, much more paying more for taxi fare. Do not forget the unemployeed people who have to struggle to go arround to search for a job. In Europe and the US, people can work two jobs to meet their cost of living, where as it is a previlage to acquire a job in the Gambia. The correct action is for the government to find an alternative to help its citezens meet to demand.