Taxi and bus operators demonstrated responsible leadership

THE EDITOR, Madam:

MINISTER OF Transport Daryl Vaz, on October 10, 2023, announced a 35 per cent fare increase for public transport operators and operators of public passenger vehicles, to be spread over six months. Fares were to go up 19 per cent as of Sunday, October 15, 2023, and by a further 16 per cent in April 2024, Vaz stated at that time. Quite recently, a meeting was held between Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke and Minister Vaz with the leadership of the taxi and bus association. The ministers came to an agreement, through discussions with the association, that the 16 per cent increase due this April would be placed on hold until the next year fiscal year. This increase would have had a detrimental and negative effect and impact on the country’s inflation rate.

Edgerton Newman, president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), and the other leaders of the taxi and bus associations should be commended for agreeing to defer the increase. They displayed a high level of sagacious leadership, responsible conduct and informed decision-making, and clearly putting Jamaica first.

Transportation costs are a major cause of inflation, and if the inflation rate goes higher than seven per cent within any given quarter or year, then the country faces a plethora of problems, such as interest rates will be increased; bank loans will be increased; businesses will face additional expenses; mortgage rates will be increased; and it will cause the Jamaican dollar to lose value. It is important that the country’s inflation rate is kept under seven per cent to anywhere between three to 4.5 per cent.

According to a senior taxi and bus representative speaking on All Angles, it is important for the Government to refund motorists who paid traffic ticket. Motorists who paid traffic fines that were illegally imposed and well above the rates stipulated in the original Road Traffic Act, over a 15-year period, from 2006 to 2021, are entitled to a refund, which Jamaica’s Constitutional Court declared in a landmark judgment in January of this year. It is important that Ministers Vaz and Clake inform Jamaican motorists, including the taxi and bus operators, when the refund will be made.

Interestingly, on the same programme, development economist Dr Chris Stokes said that within a free market economy such as Jamaica, all taxi and bus fares should be determined by supply and demand, and that these fares should not be set by the Government. Further informed discussion and debate is needed on his suggestion.

The leadership of Jamaica’s taxi and bus operators should be thanked for agreeing to postpone the additional 16 per cent fare increase until the next fiscal year.

ROBERT DALLEY

Montego Bay, St James robert.dalley1468@aol.com