Public Passenger Transport Operators Form Steering Committee

A steering committee has been established by public passenger transport operators.

The committee, to include Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, will represent the operators’ interests and is intended to aid in tackling issues affecting the sector.

The membership will also include other representatives from the Ministry, as well as the Transport Authority (TA) and Island Traffic Authority (ITA).

Opposition Spokesman on Transportation, Mikael Phillips, is also expected to be invited to be a part of the group.

Mr. Vaz indicated that the committee’s establishment will facilitate transport operators’ inclusion in discussions pertaining to the sector.

“The bottom line is that… all of the issues, some of them longstanding, some of them very contentious… must be addressed; and the only way to do that is obviously with collaboration and consensus. We may not agree on everything. But giving them an opportunity to be a part of it is very important and that includes fare increases,” Minister Vaz pointed out.

He was speaking with JIS News following a retreat hosted by the TA for transport operators at the Moon Palace Hotel in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, on Thursday (July 13).

Mr. Vaz said the retreat facilitated “an interaction between myself and my new transport family… and to put some order in relation to how we communicate.”

During the meeting, Mr. Vaz, who was recently assigned the Transport Portfolio, said the Ministry will be collaborating heavily with operators to ensure that there is complete transparency.

“This Minister and this Ministry are not going to hand down dictates to you. [The Ministry] is not going to make policy and hand it down to you. It is not going to decide on bus fares in the Ministry and in the Transport Authority and announce it and tell you,” he assured.

Mr. Vaz maintained that “you are going to be part of all that happens, because without your buy-in, we are not going to get the results.”

“You are the stakeholders, you are the investors, you are the ones that employ the drivers. I can’t tell the driver what to do, you employ him, and you pay him, so only you can instruct him and get the results,” the Minister emphasised.

Several transport operators and other stakeholders from across the island attended the retreat to meet with the Minister and management of the Transport Authority.

As part of the day’s activities, Mr. Vaz also visited the Ocho Rios Transportation Centre where he spoke with vendors, taxi operators and other stakeholders.