KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Transport Authority is expressing grave concern over reports of young women being sexually abused while travelling on illegally operated public transportation.

The authority, in responding to the Jamaica Observer’s front page story today on the alleged rape of  young women in Portmore, St Catherine by men posing as taxi drivers, has urged all commuters to “choose right and choose life” by taking legal public transports.  

Read: Rapists on the loose?

In a news release this afternoon commuters were encouraged to take the following precautions to improve their safety before taking public transportation.

• Take legal public passenger vehicles only — check for the red plates and TA sticker on the windscreen

• Take vehicles where the drivers are wearing their white PPV badges and in the case of the hackney carriages the badges are displayed in the vehicles

• Use your cell phones to capture the particulars of the vehicle and send to someone before embarking.

In the meantime, the authority said it will continue to do its part to educate and encourage the public on safe use of public passenger vehicles and has called on all illegal operators of public passenger vehicles to legalise their operations.

“There will be a zero tolerance approach for operators who continue to operate in breach of the Law,” the authority stated.

The Greater Portmore Police Station, commonly referred to as 100 Man, reported yesterday that it gets reports of rape in the Portmore Municipality “on a daily basis” and that “a few” are linked to taxis.