IN a matter of days local ride-hailing operators could be exempt from the ban on that sector of the transport industry announced Tuesday by Minister Daryl Vaz.

On Thursday Vaz told the Jamaica Observer that following a meeting with the operators on Wednesday he is considering lifting the ban on their operation by next week.

“It was never my intention for this ban to be protracted and prolonged. I took the action for a particular reason [national security] and I intend to work through the solutions, the first stage of which is to work with local operators to get them compliant, as required, then move to the next stage and work through regulating international ride-hailing operators,” said Vaz.

In a subsequent release the Transport Authority said representatives of the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport and the Transport Authority met with local ride-hailing operators to address concerns raised, consequent to Vaz’s recommendation, subject to legal checks, to impose a ban on ride-hailing services until a regulatory framework is established.

The release added that a technical working group, with representatives from the ministry, the Transport Authority, and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, met on Thursday to review the operators’ concerns and to devise a strategy to ensure the safety of passengers and the continuation of operations for those entities that are willing to comply with the local regime.

The recommendations from that meeting include removing any restriction in relation to local ride-hailing operators that only engage drivers and use vehicles which are compliant with the requirements of the Transport Authority for operating a public passenger service.

“In this respect, the Transport Authority will submit to the minister its recommendation regarding those ride-hailing entities that are compliant,” the release added.

It was also recommended that there should be increased collaboration between the Transport Authority and the Jamaica Constabulary Force to assist in the determination of those ride-hailing entities that meet the security standards for the provision of such services, and international ride-hailing operators will be required to submit to existing requirements for the provision of public passenger services.

These operators will be required to establish a local presence in Jamaica and engage the Transport Authority to facilitate the vetting of potential drivers for fit and proper purposes and vehicles for suitability to be included in its fleet and, where necessary, to impose these requirements by the promulgation of legislation to ensure compliance.

“At present, Uber remains the only foreign-based provider to have engaged in discussions with the Government of Jamaica to ensure that its operations, in all its facets, comply with local requirements,” Vaz said on Thursday.

“Uber is fully aware and understands the Government’s concerns and is willing to work with the Government to operate within the recommended regulatory regime of Jamaica,” added Vaz.

He pointed out that the Transport Authority is currently in receipt of a proposal from Uber, coming out of a series of meetings held prior to the imposition of the ban, regarding legal and regulatory concerns with its ride-hailing operations.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday during the 2024/2025 Sectoral Debate, Vaz said he has made recommendations to the country’s two telecoms providers for an immediate ban on all ride-sharing apps until further notice.

“I would like to state that this matter is not because of the incident,” Vaz said in reference to the discovery on Monday of skeletal remains believed to be that of teacher Danielle Anglin who was reported missing after she took an inDrive ride-hailing service from her home in Hellshire, St Catherine, on May 13, 2024. Police say the driver of the cab, a convicted sex offender and deportee, has given a statement detailing his involvement in the teacher’s murder.

“My recommendation as of today, which will obviously have to be vetted for legal purposes, is a ban, with immediate effect, on all those ride-sharing apps, with immediate effect, until such time as we can come to the table and work out properly how these apps can be regulated in terms of making sure that safety [and] background checks of the drivers are done not only by the apps but by the Jamaican authorities, and I make no apologies,” said Vaz.