KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Transport Authority (TA) is warning public passenger vehicle operators to immediately desist from overcharging fares for the use of public transportation across the island.

The authority said over the past few weeks, it has received several complaints from commuters that PPV operators are insisting that they pay more than the approved fares, particularly in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR), sections of St Catherine and Manchester.

“This is illegal and a violation of the rights of the commuters,” in reminded in a statement this afternoon.

The Transport Authority warned that its operations teams are monitoring this situation closely and operators found to be “unlawfully deceiving passengers as to the fare for a journey” will be prosecuted under regulation 129 (d) of the Road Traffic Regulations.

“The Transport Authority will continue to prosecute for this offence as it intensifies its drive over the upcoming weeks.

“In the meantime, the commuting public is reminded that one of the dangers of using unlicenced public passenger vehicles is that these operators often charge exorbitant fares,” the statement continued.

The authority is urging the commuting public to use licenced public transport vehicles which display red public passenger vehicle plates and the light blue Transport Authority sticker on the windshield with expiration dates of 2019 and onwards.

Commuters may also report incidents of overcharging through the Authority’s toll- free line at 1-888-991-5687 by providing the licences plate numbers and the routes for the vehicles.