Transport operators forced underground
Vice president of the Jamaica Association of Transport Owners and Operators (JATOO), Everton Styles, said taxi operators were being forced to resort to illicit means to stay operational because of the government’s refusal to grant them a fare increase. He said transport operators were now using inferior parts on their vehicles in an attempt to stay in operation. Some are even, knowingly, purchasing stolen parts from questionable characters. This move, he said, was brought about by the continuous rise in operational costs and overheads coupled with a stagnant fare rate.
Transport operators are fully aware of the risks, but many feel they have no option but to go this route in order to remain in business said Styles. He lamented the Transport Ministry’s reluctance to grant a fare increase on the grounds of what he described as “ridiculous” reasons. He was referring to a statement made by Transport Minister Robert Montague in his contribution to the sectoral debate earlier this year. Montague said the transport operators lacked discipline and gave examples of their not wearing their uniforms, using tints that were not permitted and a lack of improvement in the quality of service offered by the sector. It was also during his contribution to the budget debate that Montague advised that there would be no increase in fares for the commuting public.
Styles has rubbished the claims by Montague and proposed that the true reason for the refusal to grant an increase was based on political reasons. “They want to create a feel good atmosphere, the move is strictly political,” said Styles. He added that the association was seeking a 100 per cent increase in fares. This, he said, would allow transport operators “to at least break even”.
Styles is also calling for the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), or another independent regulatory agency, to have the final say as to when and what rate increases should be granted to the transport sector. He said this would help to take the politics out of the decision making. Allan Blair, president of the National Council of Taxi Associations (NCTA) has said publicly, that the Minister promised to grant the operators a fare increase “soon”. This promise came two weeks after his initial comments on not granting any increases. He said the association had submitted a request for an 80 per cent increase. The Transport Ministry has confirmed that they received the request in June. There has, so far, been no confirmation of a rate increase or a timeline as to when an increase will be given.
The last fare increase granted by the Transport Ministry was in 2013, when the rate was increased by 25 per cent. The request by JATOO at that time was for a 60 per cent increase. It has been almost eight years since that increase and Styles said the ministry should not expect the transport operators to manage on the rates which prevailed eight years ago with all the other overhead expenses having increased yearly, in most cases.
Taxi operators had planned a mass strike early last week but that failed to materialise after some operators sided with the Transport Minister’s arguments that the travelling public could not afford an increase. Styles said that in some cases drivers had made the “political decision” to pull out of the strike. He said operators remain divided and some need to be educated on the needs of the sector.
