With scores of taxi operators threatening to withdraw their services today, Minister of Transport Daryl Vaz is urging them to hold strain and allow the system to play out.

“I am fully aware of the misinformation and mischief that is being circulated among transport groups in relation to an all-island strike tomorrow [Monday] for five days. I have been in touch with the transport operators. There has been a statement issued by the Island Traffic Authority to indicate that the matter related to demerit points is under review by the authority and there is a meeting scheduled for this week.

“So any action would be premature and I am calling on good sense to prevail. The matter has come to my attention and I am dealing with it appropriately,” Vaz told the Jamaica Observer.

The disgruntled taxi operators have declared that they will be withdrawing their service due to what they argue is the injustice being meted out to them daily.

“We are taking action over the continuous yellow line which prevents us from picking up or letting off without being issued a ticket, the demerit point system that will see many of us having our licence suspended for things we have no control of, and the folly of the police who regularly ticket us for cellphone even when we are not on them,” one Corporate Area taxi operator told the Observer on Sunday.

Disgruntled taxi operators airing their grouses on the premises of Radio Jamaica recently. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

“We don’t care about the leader of any taxi organisation which is saying we must not strike because is like them sell we out,” added the operator in an obvious response to the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Service (TODSS) which last week announced that it has rescinded its decision to support, or participate, in any action of service.

According to president of TODDS Egeton Newman, it has made submissions to the Government about the concerns of the taxi operators and it expects a speedy response.

“We believe the right thing to do is to wait on a response. Taking any form of strike action at this time would not be the right course of action,” declared Newman hours before that Ministry of Transport announced that it will host a second meeting with public transport operators and other stakeholders on Tuesday to examine offences under the Road Traffic Act and address concerns regarding the suspension of driver’s licences based on the accumulation of demerit points.

The ministry said the examination of the offences will be spearheaded by the chairman and the managing director of the Transport Authority, the director general of the Island Traffic Authority, and the assistant commissioner of police in charge of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch.

“We hope that all the issues that are out there in the space can be raised so that they can be properly [addressed], especially where there are misconceptions because I suspect there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the offences and where persons claim points are incorrectly allotted,” managing director of the Transport Authority Ralston Smith told the Observer.

“We hope to bring clarity to the matter…especially the grey areas with respect to what some of the offence codes are and what demerit points are assigned. The intention is for us to have fulsome discussions so that those can be properly verified, and where recommendations are to be made to the minister in respect of changes or modifications then of course those submissions can be made,” he said.

The move follows an earlier meeting with the public transport group leaders and State agencies held on June 5 under the instruction of Vaz.

That meeting ended with a joint submission from four groups to the Island Traffic Authority outlining their concerns. A second meeting with the public transport operators was scheduled following the minister’s review of their concerns.

Since its implementation, public passenger vehicle operators have openly criticised the new fines and offences under the new Road Traffic Act. Some motorists have also took to social media to voice their frustrations about what they say are the unjust allocations of traffic ticket.

Vaz, during his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives last Tuesday, acknowledged that several concerns have been raised as it relates to some of the anomalies in the Act and a review is being carried out.

“I’m making an appeal to all those motorists who post things on social media about situations that they have had with tickets that they have got that they don’t feel is fair and just, to reach out to the ministry, reach out to me. Put your position forward and what you are recommending, and of course, we will look at it with a view to [resolving the issue],” he said in his presentation.

“Only yesterday [June 3] the Cabinet approved the revisions to the child restraint provisions, and those will be coming to Parliament in short order. The Island Traffic Authority, the police, and the Transport Authority are being equipped to effectively carry out their responsibilities under the Act,” said Vaz.