MONTEGO BAY, St James – Cabbies in St James who may be thinking of charging more than the law allows are being warned that they will receive no support from leaders of their associations.

A tough-talking president of the Granville United Pitfour Taxi Association (GUPTA) Lansford Gooden has been advising commuters on what to do to catch his members in the act if they overcharge.

“I am very strong on this. Any motorist that try to charge them more than the 19 per cent, they should just take down their licence plate number and report it to the necessary authorities and they will be dealt with,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“We know we are going to have some unruly drivers who will want to go above, but I guess the system will deal with them once they are reported,” he added.

Rates were increased by 19 per cent as of October 15, with another 16 per cent to be added next April. Over the years, transport operators have routinely charged more than the approved fares and the concern is that this will happen again this time around. However, there is one significant difference that president of the St James Taxi Association Deon Chance is urging his members to consider.

“The new Road Traffic Act has a fine of up to $100,000 where a driver can be [fined] for overcharging. So I want to take this opportunity to appeal to drivers out there, it is very simple to find out the amount of money that you are supposed to be charging persons to go along their way,” he told the Observer West.

“The information is there; be guided. Don’t allow for $50 and $30 to cost you anywhere between zero and $100,000 because the judge will adjudicate on that,” he added.

Members of the transport sector often point to the high cost of fuel and shoddy roads that force them to make frequent repairs to vehicles when they complain that the fares are far too low to make their career choice economically viable.

For Gooden and Chance, the fare increase is a step in the right direction.

“We more than welcome it because it is one of the better increases we have gotten in a long while. We more than appreciate it,” Gooden said.

He hailed the staggered increase as a smart decision.

“If they had just put down the whole 35 per cent one time on the general public, then probably we would have had a little chaos in the system. Therefore, it’s a good move to split in two,” he told the Observer West.

Chance, too, said his members are happy with the increase.

“Majority of the persons feel pleased about it because it is the first time that we’ve ever had such swift action on the matter of a fare increase,” he said, alluding to the time it took portfolio minister Daryl Vaz to act after transportation was added to his portfolio in May.

Chance is hoping that discussions to peg future increases to economic performance will bear fruit.

“Constant reviews will be done and if it is pertinent for anything to be increased, it will happen and we won’t have to wait 10, 12, 13 years for it to be looked at,” he added.