Transport Authority Pledges to Clean Up System in St. James

The Transport Authority has pledged to clean-up the public transport system in St. James, with a recent survey showing that more than 50 per cent of public passenger vehicles (PPV) were operating in the parish without the required licence.
Speaking at public consultation held at the Montego Bay Civic Centre in St. James on June 2, Managing Director of the Transport Authority, Daniel Dawes, said that his organisation is committed to creating a system in the parish that is clean, efficient, accessible, reliable, affordable and safe.
He noted the need for adequate terminal facilities to accommodate the more than 3,000 vehicles that are licensed as route taxis, and the more than 500 licensed buses. “It is observed that the existing terminal facilities are certainly inadequate to accommodate this number of vehicles,” he pointed out.
Mr. Dawes stated that the reduction in illegal operations and the general lawlessness in the public transportation system, will only take place through the combined efforts of Government, transport operators and the travelling public, and urged operators to work with their respective organisations and the Transport Authority, with a view to bringing order to the sector.
Meanwhile, Manager for Research and Statistics at the Transport Authority, Andrine Jackson-Scott, reported that of all the parishes within the island, St. James recorded the highest number of vehicles operating with expired road licences in the recent survey carried out.
“Vehicles operating with expired licences, robot operators, contrary operators and vehicles that are not in the Transport Authority’s licensing management information system, account for 52 per cent of all the vehicles recorded for the parish of St. James,” she informed.
She pleaded for the public to act responsibly and travel only with legally licenced vehicles.
The public consultation was the first in a series being staged across the island by the Transport Authority.