GREAT BAY--“Premium service cannot mean unregulated service.” Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten announced Wednesday that her Ministry and the Inspectorate of Economic and Transport Affairs, IETA, are examining short-term measures to address unauthorized VIP and private passenger transportation, warning that operators cannot avoid transportation requirements simply by describing their services as executive, luxury, private or pre-booked.
Heyliger-Marten said the Ministry’s position is straightforward: anyone transporting passengers for compensation on the public roads of St. Maarten must have the appropriate passenger transportation authorization required by law.
“Calling a service VIP, executive, luxury, private, chauffeured, shuttle or airport transfer does not automatically remove that activity from the regulatory framework,” the Minister said.
She stressed that the same principle applies when transportation has been arranged in advance. According to Heyliger-Marten, being pre-booked through a hotel, villa, concierge service, business, travel agency or online platform does not, by itself, exempt a transportation provider from the applicable passenger transportation requirements.
The Minister also sought to clarify what she described as an important distinction between being registered to conduct business and being authorized to perform passenger transportation.
“A Chamber of Commerce registration or business license is not the same thing as a passenger transportation permit,” Heyliger-Marten said. “You can be legally registered as a business and still not be legally authorized to perform a regulated transportation activity.”
The distinction is particularly relevant as St. Maarten’s tourism sector continues to offer a range of premium transportation services for visitors, including hotel transfers, villa transportation, chauffeured vehicles and executive services.
Heyliger-Marten emphasized that Government is not seeking to eliminate those services. Instead, she said operators offering them for compensation must function within the same lawful framework that governs other commercial passenger transportation.
Plate alone does not tell the full story
The Minister also addressed questions about how members of the public can determine whether a transportation provider is authorized.
St. Maarten has established transportation plate categories connected to its regulated passenger transportation system, including Taxi, Bus, T and G plates. Current Government procedures similarly recognize individual taxi and bus permit holders as well as companies operating touring cars under T plates and unregulated transport under G plates.
Heyliger-Marten cautioned, however, that the situation is not as simple as identifying a vehicle by its number plate.
Where an individual is using an ordinary P or M plate to provide paid passenger transportation, she said, the ordinary plate does not by itself establish that the operator has legal authorization to provide the service.
At the same time, the Minister warned against assuming that every such vehicle is operating illegally, noting that there may be circumstances in which a vehicle is operating under a specific authorization granted by IETA.
“There may be circumstances where vehicles are operating under specific authorization from IETA, so we must be careful not to make assumptions simply from seeing a vehicle on the road,” Heyliger-Marten said.
Her central point, she explained, is that where no applicable passenger transportation permit or other lawful authorization exists, a commercial transportation service cannot simply operate by calling itself VIP or private transportation.
IETA is the Government department responsible for enforcement of policies, regulations and legislation related to passenger transportation and conducts inspections and controls of public passenger transport operators.
Minister raises fairness for legitimate operators
Heyliger-Marten said enforcement is also a matter of fairness to licensed transportation operators who have complied with Government requirements and continue to carry the costs associated with operating legally.
“Our legitimate operators are paying for the proper insurance, inspections, documentation and other requirements necessary to operate within a regulated industry,” she said.
The Minister argued that those operators should not be required to meet regulatory standards and absorb the associated costs while other businesses provide essentially the same commercial passenger transportation service outside of the regulatory system.
Government’s 2026 passenger transportation compliance process requires operators to provide documentation including valid permits, road tax records and, depending on the type of operation, vehicle inspection information and insurance. Companies operating multiple vehicles must also provide fleet information to IETA.
For that reason, Heyliger-Marten said TEATT and IETA are now looking at short-term measures to address unauthorized VIP and private passenger transportation while Government continues work on wider transportation reform.
Ports, hotels and villas to receive formal notice
The Minister also intends to bring businesses and organizations that arrange transportation for visitors directly into the compliance effort.
Heyliger-Marten announced that she will dispatch a formal letter to both port authorities, as well as hotels, villas and other key stakeholders, explaining the legal requirements and outlining their responsibilities when arranging passenger transportation.
She specifically called on St. Maarten’s ports of entry, hotels, villas, concierge services, event organizers and tour operators to cooperate with Government in ensuring that the transportation providers they use are properly authorized.
“Before arranging transportation for a guest or client, please verify that the transportation provider is properly permitted and authorized to provide that service,” Heyliger-Marten said.
The move could place greater responsibility on tourism-sector businesses to verify operators before directing visitors to transportation providers or entering into arrangements for airport, seaport, hotel, villa and event transfers.
Short-term enforcement, longer-term reform
Heyliger-Marten said immediate measures are being developed to address current concerns, but the eventual structure for VIP and executive transportation will form part of Government’s broader transportation reform.
That longer-term system, she said, will be structured, properly regulated and enforced in accordance with the law.
The Minister was also clear that Government recognizes a legitimate place for premium passenger transportation within St. Maarten’s tourism economy.
“This is not about preventing VIP or executive transportation,” Heyliger-Marten said. “St. Maarten is a premium tourism destination and there is absolutely a place for high-quality private and executive transportation.”
Her message to the sector, however, was equally direct.
“What we are saying is simply that premium service cannot mean unregulated service. Everyone must operate within a fair and lawful framework.”
