PORTLAND, Jamaica — Taxi operators in Hope Bay, Portland, Wednesday morning, staged a peaceful protest about the high cost of fuel and its impact on their operations. 

“We are demonstrating about the cost of gas that has gone up three months straight and has been going on without persons crying out,” Peter Evans a member of the Portland Taxi Association told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“We decide to come out this morning and put it out that the government can understand our plight. The gas price is too high for us and we want the minister of energy and mining to do something about it for us so that the gas can go down. We don’t want a fare increase, the working class cannot afford it, so we don’t want a raise to kill the poor; we want definitely a decrease on the gas,” he said.

According to Evans, the taxi operators were having a peaceful demonstration so that the people can move about, “but if they don’t do anything from today on we will not stop until we get a result”.

“We have been losing because of the distance the Hope Bay taxis have been travelling. When we travel to Port Antonio with four passengers, which cost $600, and we put in a $1000 gas and we go back and forth it goes down to ‘E’ again and we only make $200,” Evans complained.

“We can’t make much trips and we are losing so we are asking the relevant authorities ‘Please put your best foot forward to help the taxi operators’,” he pleaded.

“Is not only car gas gone up but cooking gas, oxygen is also up there so Mr Government just look into our plight and do something better,” Evans added.

Meanwhile, Hope Bay commuters were left stranded and were only helped by passing motorists.

Everard Owen