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Transport Authority Decries Abuse of Commuter's Rights to Disembark Vehicle
The Transport Authority is decrying the blatant abuse of passenger rights as highlighted by a recent video circulated on social media and is warning offending operators that its operations teams will be exercising a zero tolerance approach to such incidents. The Authority uses this medium to express its deepest concern for the obvious distress suffered by the female passenger, whose rights, as a commuter were clearly infringed, since every passenger has a right to freely embark and disembark a motor vehicle at any convenient point. The Authority also publicly condemns the unsympathetic behaviour of the driver of the motor vehicle, who disregarded his responsibility to ensure that passengers are transported in a safe, secure and comfortable manner. Having become aware of the incident, the Authority commenced extensive efforts to contact the distressed passenger or other persons who may have witnessed the incident. A public plea was made on radio by the General Manager, Operations of the Transport Authority requesting that contact be made. Further, the Authority has intensified its monitoring and regulating of Public Passenger Vehicles, through the use of technology. As a part of this thrust, the Authority has added two applications to its monitoring system; WhatsApp and the Drive Safe Jamaica App, which are both fully functional and in use by the commuting public. Videos and pictures of infractions being committed by operators of Public Passenger Vehicles may be uploaded to the Transport Authority’s WhatsApp number, (876) 551-8196 or to the Drive Safe Jamaica App, which can be downloaded in Google Play Store. The Authority encourages the public to fully utilize these applications to report the various infractions that may be committed by PPV operators, so that the appropriate sanctions under the Transport Authority’s Suspension and Revocation Policy can be applied. Additionally, the Authority is encouraging members of the commuting public to choose only legal Public Passenger Vehicles as their mode of transportation.
TRANSPORT AUTHORITY EXPRESS SERVICE LICENCE FEES
The Transport Authority has implemented an Express Service which will allow for the complete processing of licences within a next day or three (3) day timeframe. This service will be offered at an additional cost ONLY for licences that are being renewed and will take effect on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. The table below outlines a breakdown of the additional fees for this service by licence category: LICENCE REGULAR (7 WORKING DAYS) 24 HOURS 72 HOURS $ $ $ Contract Carriage (Bus) 15,600 20,600 18,600 Contract Carriage (Car) 15,600 20,600 18,600 Express Carriage 120,000 125,000 123,000 Hackney Carriage (metered) 13,500 18,500 16,500 Hackney Carriage (unmetered) 13,500 18,500 16,500 JUTC Stage Carriage Regular Fee An Additional $5,000 An Additional $3,000 Private Carrier 14,000 19,000 17,000 Public Carrier 14,000 19,000 17,000 Private Carrier (Bike) 11,500 16,500 14,500 Public Carrier (Bike) 11,500 16,500 14,500 Rural Stage Carriage Fee is based on seating capacity An Additional $5,000 An Additional $3,000
FIFTEEN PERCENT FARE ADJUSTMENT COME AUGUST SIXTEEN
Effective August 16, 2021, commuters can expect a 15% fare adjustment in bus and taxi fares, says the Transport Authority.Following several and varying requests for an increase, Cabinet noted the situation, reviewed the requests, along with the economic impact of the pandemic on the general public and the resultant effect of the rate of inflation, and sought to find a solution. It is believed that this adjustment, after eight years, created the right balance for all parties.Consultations with the Ministry of Finance and Public Service indicate that this increase will affect national inflation by approximately 1%.The Transport Ministry outlines that a number of initiatives have been undertaken to improve the sector in order to improve service delivery.The Transport Authority and the Ministry, along with National Council of Taxi Associations (NCOTA), have engaged the Taxi Associations to help rid the sector of “bad eggs”, by providing extensive customer service training for operators. Additionally, the recent staging of the Transport Stakeholders Conference, the establishment of a hotline to report deviant behaviour which may result in the cancelation and suspension of road licenses and badges; the introduction of technologies to assist with ride sharing; along with the Ministry and the Authority’s part sponsorship of the Blue Ribbon First Responders Training Programme, an initiative spearheaded by the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), have all been used as means to transform the sector.While these improvements may be considered small steps, they are steps in the right direction and the Ministry remains dedicated to putting in the work to make a transformation.The Ministry further outlines that amendments to the Transport Authority Act are far advanced, as well as the regulations to the Road Traffic Act, 2018.Meanwhile, the rate for the elderly, the disabled and children will remain at 50% of the adult fare. There will be no change to the fare for the JUTC and Montego Bay Metro. The Transport Ministry further warns operators that no additional fares should be charged, stressing that the Transport Authority will be working steadfast in ensuring this is monitored and maintained. Members of the public are encouraged to report overcharging to the Transport Authority at 888-991-5687 or Whatsapp 876-551-8196.
TRANSPORT AUTHORITY WARNS PUBLIC PASSENGER VEHICLE OPERATORS TO DISCONTINUE THE PRACTICE OF OVERCHARGING FARES
The Transport Authority is warning public passenger vehicle operators that they should immediately desist from the practice of overcharging commuters’ fares for use of public transportation in the corporate area.The Authority has again received complaints that unscrupulous persons are insisting commuters pay more than the approved fares in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR), particularly on the route Spanish Town to Linstead. This is illegal and a violation of the rights of the commuters. Accordingly, the Transport Authority operations teams are monitoring this situation closely and operators found to be “unlawfully deceiving passengers as to the fare for a journey” will be prosecuted under regulation 129 (d) of the Road Traffic Regulations.In the meantime, the commuting public is reminded that one of the dangers of using unlicenced public passenger vehicles is that these operators often charge exorbitant fares. The Authority is therefore urging the commuting public to use licenced public transport vehicles which display red public passenger vehicle plates and the light blue Transport Authority sticker on the windshield with expiration dates of 2020 and onwards.Commuters may report incidents of overcharging through the Authority’s toll- free line at 1-888-991-5687; WhatsApp images or videos to 1-876-551-8196, providing the licences plate numbers and the routes for the vehicles; or download the Drive Safe Jamaica app in the Google Playstore and submit your images or videos.Contact:Petra-kene Williams, Corporate Communication ManagerTel: (876) 936-0601/ (876) 579-6097
