TA Urges Buses to Comply with New Downtown Kgn Rules
February 5, 2011The Full Story
General Manager of Operations at the Transport Authority (TA), Cecil Morgan, has asked downtown Kingston transport operators, particularly, those plying St. Mary and Portland routes, to comply with the new parking arrangements.
Speaking on Tuesday February 2 at a JIS Think Tank session, Mr. Morgan said a high percentage of buses from St. Mary and Portland refuse to terminate at the designated Water Lane facility, leaving commuters stranded.
“What we have recognised is that the majority of the buses, when they do leave those areas, they come into the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR) and they do not return (to the facility) until late in the evenings,” Mr. Morgan noted.
He said the TA and the Police will be targeting the delinquent operators, and revocation or suspension of road licences are among the likely penalties.
“For operators who continue to operate without completing their journey, it is a breach of the terms and conditions of their road licences. We don’t really want to go that route. We are encouraging operators to stick to the routes that they have agreed to,” he told JIS News.
Mr. Morgan noted that the Authority has posted inspectors at strategic points, at the St. Mary routes termination area in Cross Roads and downtown, to monitor perpetrators. The TA Operations Head also lamented the work of illegal operators who, he noted, have been creating chaos in the system.
“There are some hackney carriages that continue to defy the terms and conditions of their licences. We will be having discussions with some of these hackney operators, to advise them that the TA and the Police will be dealing with them in a meaningful way, because they are creating chaos,” he stated.
He praised the St. Thomas operators for their high level of cooperation, since the implementation of the new system. He noted that, while they have experienced challenges, they adhere to the new parking arrangements stipulating that they terminate at Water Lane.
CONTACT: LATOYA PENNANT