Cabbies rev up pressure for gas relief funds
PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Association of Transport Owners and Operators (JATOO), Louis Barton, has lamented the delays by Government in providing the $25,000 in vouchers to cushion the effect of surging petrol prices on transport operators who are “in dire straits”.
In his closing presentation to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House in March, Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke said that the Government had set aside $600 million for operators who had been impacted by the rising petrol prices.
The Transport Authority reported on Monday that it was in the final stages of discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service regarding the distribution of the gas relief funds. The Authority said that the talks are expected to be completed by the end of June.
The transport regulator said the talks were centred on developing an efficient and effective mechanism for the public transport operators to apply for, and access, the gas grant in a transparent and accountable manner.
Barton said that the Transport Authority has displayed empathy and understanding with the plight of the taxi operators but noted that there was a limit to what the regulatory body could do.
BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES
“The reality is that we are feeling it, and no matter how they feel about us and are kind to us, kindness cannot buy the gas,” he said in a Gleaner interview.
He said that the relief grant promised by Clarke was appreciated but argued that the Government’s system of allocating benefits was fraught with bureaucratic hurdles.
Barton told The Gleaner that close to 50 of his members who applied for relief under the Government’s CARE programme did not receive a benefit during the earlier part of the pandemic.
“Our association was doing the applications for our members, so we know they were qualified based on the criteria, and they still never get it. The major problem is that we cannot get a fulsome explanation as to why they did not qualify, although they met all the criteria,” he said.
The JATOO boss said that many operators are not hopeful that the Government will deliver on its commitment to provide the grant.
“I am really hoping that our members will be able to get what they were promised but if they don’t get it, they won’t be surprised,” Barton said.
There are 250 active JATOO members, but Barton said his organisation advocates for all redplate operators.
Barton acknowledged that the war between Russia and Ukraine was the main contributing factor to the skyrocketing oil prices.
However, he said that was little comfort to the taxi operators who were struggling to stay afloat.
“A number of my members have been withdrawing service. They prefer not to go out on the road than to go out and not get passengers and waste gas,”he said.
Merdina Callum, acting corporate communications manager at the Transport Authority, said that the regulator was not able to provide a specific number of proposed public transport operators who would benefit but told The Gleaner that thousands would receive the gas relief.