‘Holding the public to ransom’
Transport Authority chief dismisses Buff Bay protesters; says new licences issued to satisfy demand
Published:Tuesday | March 15, 2022 | 12:12 AM
BUFF BAY, Portland:
The Transport Authority of Jamaica has defended its decision to issue 45 road licences to route taxi operators plying the Buff Bay to Port Antonio route, arguing that the move was ratified after an assessment was made based on commuter demand.
The green light for new licences, which was announced on the weekend, stoked conflict in Buff Bay on Monday, with busmen lamenting that the market would not be viable with a flood of new entrants.
But Willard Hylton, managing director of the Transport Authority, explained that the dynamics on the ground had changed and that provisions have been made to accommodate the taxi operators.
He revealed that the complement of buses serving commuters had dwindled from 39 a few years ago to nine now.
“It is well within the prescribed radius for taxis to be plying that route. And if it is a situation where the public is being denied access to the seating, we have a responsibility to fix that,” Hylton said in a Gleaner interview on Monday.
“... The bus operators must be a little bit more conscientious. You can’t have a situation where now that the country is going back to normalcy, there is not enough seating here, and you’re holding the public to ransom. It doesn’t work that way.”
The Transport Authority managing director said that the organisation evaluated the marketplace and determined that more licences should be made available. His declaration appeared to be in step with a policy shift promulgated by then Transport Minister Robert Montague that the market itself would determine which operations would stay afloat.
“If the route is oversubscribed, based on how market functions, those who can’t survive will find something else to do. That is the model we are operating on now. So anyone who wants a licence should have no difficulty applying,” Hylton said.
Bluntly, Hylton said that if 20 bus operators wanted to return to the system, the law of demand and supply would determine whether their operations were viable.
Hylton’s comments came in the wake of protest action taken by the minibus operators on Monday, which left hundreds of persons, including students, stranded in Buff Bay for several hours.
The minibus operators, who said they only got wind of the development on the weekend, are accusing the Transport Authority of leaving them in the cold.
Additionally, they allege that taxi operators are already plundering the public by charging adults $250 and, in some instances, $300 to travel from Port Antonio to Buff Bay and that students have had to pay $150.
The designated fare for adults is $150 on minibuses, while students are required to pay $100.
The protest started from as early as 5 a.m. on Monday, and there was little movement for hours as students returned to the second week of full-scale face-to-face classes.
A spokesperson for the minibus operators, Fitzroy Ramsay, argued that their earnings have been slashed because they are being crowded out of the market.
A meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 16 between the Transport Authority, minibus operators, and a team from the office of Portland West Member of Parliament Daryl Vaz.