Operators park vehicles as roadwork causes gridlock
Some taxi operators who ply the Three Miles to Half-Way Tree and downtown Kingston routes stayed off the job yesterday, as they were upset with authorities over road development route changes.
The taxi men are calling for a full review of the new route system. Some of them claim they heard of the new route as it was being rolled out yesterday.
Taxi operator Mark told THE STAR: “A dats why yuh see me sit here because me nah work. Taxi business mash up right now. Dem a send we all over the place.”
He said even with the route changes, problems are mounting.
He told THE STAR: “The passengers nuh know bout the changes, a nuff me affi a direct from morning. The schoolchildren just the same. All business mash up. Dem say we fi park up deh suh, when we go up deh a ticket we a get.”
Some taxi operators are calling on the police to ease up on issuing tickets.
“We love the development and thing but the police can use discretion with the ticket, cause some of the people nuh know weh dem a go suh the taxi man dem meet dem. Dem a give everybody ticket whether you a taxi man or driving personal car,” one operator said.
The taxi operators, who acknowledge they are stakeholders in the development, said they can’t operate under present conditions for the long haul.
RECONSIDERATION NEEDED
One told THE STAR: “This can’t keep up for eight months as they claim. How that a go work? They need to reconsider.”
A female bus driver, who plies the Waterhouse to Three Miles route, said she had a rough start to her work week.
She said: “From 5:30 a.m. mi start work and all when 10 o’clock me only do four trips. That nuh mek nuh sense, look pan mi gas needle. Mi nuh mek nuh money but mi gas bun out, tank almost empty. You know from when me a come from Waterhouse.”
She said that on a normal day, she would have made $10,000 during that time frame.
“This morning not even 2,000 mi nuh mek. Mi nuh know how that a go work. You can’t inna traffic from Waterhouse to come to Three Mile and tek three hours. That a madness cause when the bus a trackle, gas a bun out same way,” she said.