KINGSTON, Jamaica – Hundreds of commuters and students were left stranded in Christiana, Manchester and Buff Bay, Portland this morning, after taxi operators protested the lack of designated parking areas for taxis in Christiana while taxi men and minibus operators protested for a designated route from Buff Bay to Port Antonio in Portland.

Several children who were returning to school for the full resumption of face-to-face learning, were left stranded on a day that should have been filled with optimism. 

“The grouse in Christiana is related to a parking issue which has been going on for many years. There are two locations and they have outgrown their usefulness for taxi operators who ply the Spalding and Mandeville routes and other surrounding areas in Christiana,” Egeton Newman, president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), said. 

“There needs to be a proper public transport facility in Christiana, which is a very large area, which serves Colyville, Devon, Hyburnia, Chudleigh, Mandeville, Walderston and other areas. There are hundreds of taxi operators but only two small walkway locations, one is unfinished in the Wildman Street road in the centre and one where you exit town at the fire station.”

Newman urged taxi operators to call on their local representative before withdrawing their services and triggering a demonstration that unfairly penalizes the public.

 “It doesn’t work and what we do, we cause people who are not engaged in that sort of activity to be left out…like the students on the first morning of face-to-face school and hundreds of students were left stranded this morning,” Newman said. 

 “It is unfortunate, when you have a grouse, call the local presidents so we can address it. We didn’t need to have a demonstration this morning,” he added. 

Ironically, Audley Shaw, the Member of Parliament for North East Manchester, is also the Minister of Transport. 

In the meantime, ticked off operators in Buff Bay, Portland complained that the lack of designated routes in the area causes great inconvenience for both adult and student commuters. It appears that operators are only allowed the route Buff Bay to Skibo and Spring Garden, which currently creates a serious strain on the commuting public, who are frequently left stranded for several hours.

The Portland operators have vowed to continue the protest if their request for the road license is not granted.