THE Transport Authority is now offering licences for 438 bus and taxi routes islandwide, in what it said is a move to satisfy the increased demand for public transportation services in rural Jamaica.

These routes include 374 route taxis and 64 rural stage carriage bus routes. Applications for these routes, the Transport Authority said, will remain open until the allocations are met.

“… The decision to reopen the 438 routes [is] in keeping with [our] mandate to ensure the provision of road licences to satisfy the demand of commuters, based on the findings of surveys and route feasibility studies.

“Additionally, over the past few months, the authority has [had] dialogue with local stakeholders, reviewed recent housing developments in some areas and considered several requests from commuters in respect of underserved routes,” a release from the Transport Authority said.

Some of the new routes include New Harbour Village to Old Harbour, Spanish Town to Seville Meadows, Spanish Town to Job Lane, all in St Catherine; and May Pen to Kennedy Grove in Clarendon.

The complete list of open routes was published in the newspapers. In the meantime, the Transport Authority has advised potential applicants that as of November 23, 2015, motor cars 15 years and under will be accepted for new (first time) applications for route taxi road licences. A structural safety report is, however, required for motor cars 11 years and over. Additionally, all new route taxi operators will be required to install and display a taxi roof sign/globe as well as colour-coded in accordance with the approved Transport Authority standards.

In the meantime, the Transport Authority has warned those operating public transportation services without the requisite road licences to ensure that they legalise their services now and avoid prosecution.