New Transport Authority Campaign Puts Commuter Safety First
By: , April 26, 2026
Photo: Danielle Myers
Transport Authority (TA) Route Inspectors engage members of the public on Friday (April 24), during the launch of the organisation’s Behavioural Change Campaign — 'Moving People…Mpowering' — for the Kingston Metropolitan Region, held at the Half‑Way-Tree Lay-by in St. Andrew.
Photo: Danielle Myers
Transport Authority (TA) Route Inspectors engage members of the public on Friday (April 24), during the launch of the organisation’s Behavioural Change Campaign — 'Moving People…Mpowering' — for the Kingston Metropolitan Region, held at the Half‑Way-Tree Lay-by in St. Andrew.The Full Story
Commuter safety is at the heart of the Transport Authority’s (TA) Transport Behavioural Change Campaign — ‘Moving People…Mpowering’.
The public engagement initiative, launched on Friday (April 24) across the Authority’s regional locations — Santa Cruz Transport Centre (Southern Region), Half-Way-Tree Lay-by (Kingston Metropolitan Region), Montego Bay Transport Centre (Western Region), and Ocho Rios (Northern Region) — was showcased through Inspector-Commuter Engagement Day activities.
The undertaking aims to foster cordial relationships between Route Inspectors and the travelling public across all regions, supporting commuters in making informed choices when using public transportation.
It is also intended to promote meaningful engagement among inspectors, commuters, and public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators, while empowering commuters with knowledge of their rights and sensitising operators to their responsibilities.
A 2022 Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) survey revealed that while 91.9 per cent of Jamaicans use public transportation weekly, more than 80 per cent have never interacted with a Transport Authority Route Inspector.
Corporate Communications Manager at the TA, Merdina Callum, told JIS News that this was among several variances emerging from the survey.
“We need [commuters] to know what the inspectors’ roles are; we also need them to understand that they have rights and responsibilities as well. Our job, as the regulator, is to ensure that they are properly accommodated. The taxi must be properly outfitted, maintained in good condition and provide safe, reliable transportation,” she said, noting that this is the right of every passenger.
“We also want to ensure that they take licensed vehicles so that, in the event the operator is involved in an accident, the passenger can be appropriately compensated. We want to give them the knowledge and let them know that they have rights and responsibilities to ensure that they take properly licensed public passenger vehicles (PPV),” Ms. Callum added.
