SEVERAL commuters travelling from Half-Way-Tree to Papine in St Andrew, who are accustomed to paying just $100, say taxi operators demanded $150 for fare yesterday morning, which resulted in altercations between passengers and drivers in some cases.

The transport ministry last week announced a 15 per cent increase in bus and taxi fares across the island, which took effect yesterday.

Commuters, who said they were prepared to start paying $115 due to the increase announced, said they were surprised when taxi operators demanded $150 yesterday, with some taxi operators demanding that fares be paid upon entry.

“I paid $150 from Half-Way-Tree to go to Papine this morning. I couldn’t bother with the arguing because it wouldn’t reach anywhere. If I knew before that the driver would charge that, I would have called a chartered taxi. This is madness,” a woman who gave her name only as Rosheida told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Rosheida said when the driver got to Old Hope Road, which is less that half the journey, he started asking for fare and demanded $150 from passengers. “Three of us [were] in the vehicle [when] the driver slowed down and started demanding all of us [pay] $150. And the argument start enuh, because the two men beside me decide seh dem nah pay nothing more than $100. So they paid just that and came out [when the driver stopped]. I was already late… I just give him (driver) the $150 and went to Papine. Honestly, this country gone from bad to worse. Poor people cannot win. If a nuh Government a pressure we, is a next poor man a pressure we,” she lamented.

Another woman had a similar encounter. She told the Observer that she had to wait in Half-Way-Tree for almost an hour to get a taxi driver who was charging “regular fare”.

“As me go inna the taxi, the driver a make me know seh a $150 him a tek and if me caa pay dat me must come out. How di fare a $150? So me come out and him trace me off and say taxi man hungry, too, and COVID affect dem, too. And most of the others say the same thing. Everybody a come and a ask fi $150. Dem greedy and that’s why taxi man a go always get fight. Anything dem put out a come back fi bite dem,” she said.

“I had to wait a while until I get one taxi who come and say $100. God bless him because me neva did a go pay $150. Me can hardly find the right fare wid the extra $15 much less a whole $50. It neva did a go work at all.”

Richard Bynes, president of the All-Island United Route Taxi Association, said he wasn’t aware of such demands. Bynes told the Observer that he advised taxi operators against making additional charges, despite the transport ministry’s announcement.

“I have informed my members that they are not supposed to charge for any raise until further notice. So, none of my members are charging anything new. All my members are still working with the $100. They have not increased the fare as yet because we are going back to the drawing table with the transport minister,” he said yesterday, while describing the 15 per cent increase stipulated by the ministry as a “low blow”.

Bynes said he isn’t against the idea of a 50 per cent increase, but would much rather if the ministry made that call. He said the ministry’s announcement last week came as a surprise, having requested a “40 to 50 per” increase.

“I heard that taxi operators were going to ask for that ($150), but I told my members that they must not take part in it. So I don’t know what is happening on the other side.”

Bynes, also the second vice-president of the National Council of Taxi Association, was adamant that only “illegal” taxi operators are behind a $150 fare hike.

“None of the legal route taxis are taking any additional money. Anybody who is doing that is the hackney carriage taxi that is operating as route taxi. The legal route taxi is the black and white stripe and the illegal ones have the yellow and black stripe.”

Meanwhile, a taxi operator of over 15 years said an increase in fare is long overdue and contended that $15 is not enough.

“This is a long time coming. Look how long we a settle fi bills ($100). Dat caa do nothing. All when gas raise we take bills. All when we bruck and hungry and we family a starve. And the same people dem weh a complain, dem wouldn’t mind if yuh drive go Papine wid dem alone. As dem come ina the vehicle dem wah yuh do road wid dem alone as passenger. So how we fi eat? A nuff crosses taxi man go through,” he said.

Another operator who gave his name as Jermaine agreed.

“A nuff time we get short-change. People all tek yuh taxi and come out and no pay and yuh just nuh watch nuh face. And nobody nah come out come protest fi we. But man a charge a extra $50 and everybody a bawl like yah kill dem. Dem people yah corrupt.”

In a statement last Saturday, Egeton Newman, head of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), said his organisation, the Jamaica Association of Transport Owners and Operators, and the presidents of four smaller taxi associations have all rejected the 15 per cent increase. He said that 70 per cent of individuals form the organisations voted to reject the increase and instead request dialogue with the minister of transport and the head of the Transport Authority of Jamaica.