KINGSTON, Jamaica — Several taxi operators in Kingston have voiced their ire at Justice Minister Delroy Chuck’s advice for them to ‘get a loan’ to pay off outstanding traffic fines. In fact, many of the operators believe that the Government is at fault for allowing them to accrue an exorbitant amount of tickets with no immediate consequence.

Other drivers rubbished the advice from the minister, stating that not all operators will be eligible for loans.

“I think that is crap,” said Raymond Rose, in describing the Justice Minister’s recent comment on the traffic ticket saga.

“Because, for me, they are at fault in the first place. If I am running a Government system there is no way I am going to allow it to reach that far that I am going to come in a public way and say they need to take out loan to pay it. They are not running an efficient system, so it is crap,” Rose argued.

Minister Chuck made the comments last Thursday during the commissioning ceremony of 43 justices of the peace for St James and continued to hold his stance against leniency for transport operators who have racked up a long list of traffic tickets that remain unpaid.

READ: Get a loan to pay your traffic fines, says Chuck

When asked about his plan should the tickets remain unpaid after the February 1 deadline has expired, another taxi operator stated that he is not sure what his next steps will be but said he will have to find a way to clear his debt.

“Me not even know enuh, me not even know but me feel like me ago change work. But the ticket dem ago still deh deh. So me ago just haffi do another work and try pay it off deh suh,” Deron Thompson reasoned.

“Some way, somehow we haffi try to do something because we nah go rob and thief. This is our job, this our 9-5 and livelihood so we haffi try something,” he added.

There is also the possibility of jail time for transport operators with unpaid tickets. In response to this, Rose, who has been in the taxi business since 2004, stated “they can’t lock up everybody that owe ticket; they don’t have the facility for that and they are going to be dead wrong.”

He added: “They are running this like it’s a gangster thing. That’s not how you deal with the public, especially in the Government system. You cannot put a deadline on something that you let get out of control. You ago come shoot me down now because of your wrong, that is crap. So is a bad man ting dem deh pon! It make sense?”

Transport operators had previously requested an amnesty for the mountain of unpaid traffic fines but this was denied by the Government. Instead, an extension was given where drivers would be allowed until January 31 to clear up the fines, with the added benefit of avoiding demerit points.

However, taxi operators are alleging that when they go to court to pay their outstanding tickets, their licenses are being suspended.

“The judge a tell our drivers say the prime minister never give her no letter or inform her to that argument so we just a get a ‘radam’ and nobody nuh deh deh fi help we,” one taxi driver, who did not give his name said.

“So we willing fi go in and pay it but nuff man run out a courtyard weh day enuh when we realise wah gwaan. No man nah go in deh go take dem judgement deh. Man willing fi do the thing so me nuh know what kinda hard ball a play. It need fi adjust better than that, trust me,” he lamented.

Another transport operator, Mickardo Portuondo, described the Government’s response as “patty shop” behaviour while accusing the government of trickery. He has questioned how the transport operators will be able to pay off the tickets when they do not have their licenses to work.

“I feel like I must go up to Kings House and go up to the security booth and order two patty and a coco bread because is a patty shop running. It must be a patty shop or you take people for an idiot. How can you put that in the newspaper and the taxi man dem gladly comply and say them a go up deh go pay dem tickets now and dem go and still losing dem license?” Portuondo questioned.

“How can you be tricking the people, and fabricating lies and when we go attempt to pay it now, we are still being penalised? That cannot work!” he added.

The transport operators have threatened to withdraw their service in response to the court allegedly suspending drivers’ licenses when operators turn up to pay on outstanding tickets.

This would be the second in recent strikes, with the first occurring in November 2022 when transport operators requested the traffic ticket amnesty. This affected several commuters who were left stranded.

“We are gonna strike again enuh and this strike is not gonna be normal. The public sector has already complained that when we strike it is pure chaos and problems in the country and we are not doing it because we want to create any ruption in the country, we just want to pay our tickets,” Portuondo declared.

Minister Chuck stated in his remarks last Thursday that more than 2,000 people have over 100 tickets outstanding; and over 40 have 500 unpaid tickets. Transport operators have until January 31 to clear these ticket fines as the new Road Traffic Act comes into effect on February 1, 2023.