Transport Authority to Target Illegal Operators

The Transport Authority will be rolling out a comprehensive programme to get illegal operations off the streets.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Morais Guy, made the announcement at the handing over of five Volvo buses to Montego Bay Metro Limited yesterday (Oct. 17), at the company’s depot in Bogue.

He said that details of the programme will be announced shortly.  “Where illegal operators are on the road, the Transport Authority’s remit is to put order into the disorder.  We are going to be getting …those who are illegal operators off the streets,” he stated.

He argued that it is not reasonable to have persons paying fees to operate legally and “doing all the necessary registration and documentation annually, and at the same time, there are illegal operators, who have not paid any fees or done any documentation, competing with them”.

Turning to the taxi associations, the Minister opined that some of the groups are not properly serving their membership, or providing the service for which they were formed.

He said further that there are too many associations competing for members, and the numbers could be rationalized to about three or four per parish.  “You can’t have one parish with all 12 and 15 associations, and each association is competing for members,” he argued.

“I just want to say, going forward, that whereas we do not intend to have a public against a private interest in this country, everything has to be legal, regularized and regulated,” he stated.