KINGSTON, Jamaica — Effective Monday, the Transport Authority (TA) will open 4,158 spaces on 768 routes islandwide in order to satisfy the increased demand for public transportation services.

Among the 768 routes on offer are:

1. 100 – newly established Route Taxis routes with 765 spaces;

2. Three – newly established Rural Stage Carriage routes with six spaces;

3. 576 – reopened Route Taxis routes with 3,210 spaces; and

4. 89 – reopened Rural Stage Carriages routes with 177 spaces

The authority in a release this afternoon said that the move to open the 768 routes follows a number of stakeholder consultations in respect of underserviced routes, assessment of requests made by commuters, as well as an islandwide review of the demand and supply for public transportation.

Some of the new routes include Portmore Mall to Portmore Villa, St Catherine; May Pen to Glenmuir Housing Scheme, Clarendon; and Mandeville to Morelands, Manchester.

The complete list of opened and reopened routes will be published in the press on Sunday, the Authority reported.

The Authority is also urging individuals operating public transportation services without the requisite road licences to ensure that they legalise their services now and avoid prosecution.

In the meantime, it is reminding prospective applicants that no employee of the authority has the power or authority to grant new road licences as this responsibility lies with the board appointed, Licensing Committee of the Authority.

It urged applicants to refrain from conducting business with individuals purporting to be agents of the TA, as it will not accept liability for any losses incurred by applicants resulting from these transactions.