Praneeta Prakash 
[File Photo]
The government is taking steps to deal with the large amount of unpaid traffic fines which has reached $24 million since 2001.
Assistant Minister for Transport revealed this while responding to the 2025/2026 national budget.
Tuinaceva says they will introduce new payment plans to help people pay off their fines.
“We are introducing structured payment plans to recover these debts, sensibly supporting compliance with the punishing hardship and reducing the need for legal enforcement.”
Tuinaceva also reveals that they will suspend the buying and selling of permits.
He says this is to stop people from making profits from permits instead of using them to serve the public.
“From 2020-2024, nearly $65 million in permits changed hands. That’s not transport policy. That’s market. We are changing that. Notably, the average buying price of permits from January 2024 to April 2024 was around $41,000, compared to $38,986 for the year 2023.”
Tuinaceva says this highlights the urgent need to remove the ability to transfer permits through sales to prevent the monopolistic control and ensure that permits serve the public interest.
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