No Place For Illegal Operators in or Around New Transportation Centre – Transport Authority

With the Half Way Tree Transportation Centre scheduled to open on January 12, Chairman of the Licensing Committee at the Transport Authority, Arthur McKinley is assuring that the Authority’s operations will be stepped up in and around the centre.
The Chairman who was speaking at a weekly JIS Think Tank session held on January 3, said the Authority is seeking to regulate, monitor and enforce operations around the centre.
He also stressed that illegal transport operators will not have a place at the new centre and all roadways and parking venues will be constantly monitored.
“The illegal operators will not be accommodated by the changes taking place currently. Those that currently operate, through public education and through no parking arrangements, through the presence of the Transport Authority inspectors and the Island Special Constabulary Force, will see that there is just no way in which they will be accommodated in the system,” Mr. McKinley said.
In addition Reginald Allen, Communications Manager at the Ministry of Transport and Works noted that illegal operators have been able to take advantage of the inadequacies in the formal transport system. To address this, Mr. Allen said that the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) and other legitimate operators must first of all bring about significant improvement, because “once the legitimate system provides adequate service, then slowly but surely there will be no place for the illegal operators”.
He further stressed that, “we are not going to tolerate them (illegal operators) as is, but we will have to put in the measures to remove them, but have the commuting public still being able to get service.”