TRANSPORT MINISTER MEETS WITH TAXI ASSOCIATIONS

Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill met with taxi associations from across the island on Wednesday, June 22nd during a press conference at the Jamaica Hilton Hotel.

The meeting was held to sensitise taxi operators about the recent amendments to the Road Traffic and Transport Authority Acts and the implications for their business. A large turn out of operators was on hand to listen to the Minister and ask questions of him and other resource persons who included Mr. Hensley Williams, new chairman of the Transport Authority, Mrs. Joan Fletcher, Managing Director of the Transport Authority, Snr. Supt. Elan Powell of the Police Traffic Department, Mrs. Elsa- May Binns, Senior Director, Policy Planning and Evaluation in the Ministry of Transport and Works as well as Dr. Alwin Hales, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Works.

Addressing the meeting, Minister Pickersgill said that the government had spent in excess of $6B in plant and rolling stock to modernise the bus service and that there were persons offering illegal taxi services which necessitated a coming together of all the stakeholders. Minister Pickersgill lamented the fact that there were 15,500 licensed taxi operators, 13,000 of which were Rout Taxis and 2,500 Hackney Carriage, however he said that the illegal operators were somewhere in the region of 18, 000. He said that illegal operators made on average an amount of $8B annually.

The Minister further made the observation that the JUTC had also felt the impact of the major abuse of the transport system by illegal taxis. Illegal taxis played a major role in the reduction in ridership on JUTC buses from 88.46 million in 2003 to 77.40 million in 2004, a reduction of 11.06 million.

As a result of the various problems plaguing the transport industry, particularly the taxi service, a way forward was sought through legislative changes. Consequently, after extensive consultations with stakeholders such as the Transport Authority, Island Traffic Authority, the JUTC, the NWA, the National Association of Taxi Operators (NATO), the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Attorney General’s Department and parliamentarians, bills were passed which introduced amendments to the Road Traffic and Transport Authority Acts.

Among the thing, these Acts allow for are:
· Taxis are required to have red PPV plates
· The Association’s logo on the two front doors of the vehicle
· A number; each motor vehicle within each association is required to have a specific number
· Affixing parish colour coded stickers to the front and rear windshields
· The parish lettering is to be displayed on the sticker
· The route destination displayed on both front doors
· A five by seven inch identification with a picture of the driver as well as his or her name clearly displayed for passengers to see.

The amendment also empowers the Transport Authority Inspectors to issue a ticket at the time of the offence; this ticket will serve as Summons to appear in court. In terms of policing the system, the Transport Authority will be working in conjunction with the Jamaica Constabulary Force regarding implementation of the regulations. To that end, the Transport Authority is in the process of hiring forty additional Inspectors.