Transport Minister Daryl Vaz says he will be engaging the Minister of National Security, the Minister of Justice and the Cabinet to establish regulation that will prevent telecommunications companies from denying a request from the Government which seeks to protect national security.

He made the revelation in a release Friday in which he indicated that to date, only one telecommunications company has responded to his letter requesting restriction on access to ride-sharing applications. The lone response, he said, was delayed, arriving six days after the dated letter.

The minister had written to the telecoms operators and recommended ban on ridesharing services after police found the remains of missing St Peter Claver Primary and Infant School teacher, Danielle Anglin, in Salt River, Clarendon.

READ: Vaz recommends immediate ban on ridesharing apps after death of schoolteacher

READ: Skeletal remains believed to be of missing teacher found in Clarendon

The school teacher went missing on May 13 while on her way to school from her Hellshire, St Catherine home, where she had reportedly chartered a cab via a ridesharing app.

Vaz noted that the lone telecoms that formally responded did not object to the ban but requested that supporting legal documentation be provided to indicate the authority to implement such restrictions.

“In discussions, both have indicated an unwillingness to block the apps on the basis that there is no legislation in place. I feel very strongly that any minister of government who sees or deems an issue as a national security risk, that legislation should be in place and it should be clear and definitive that it is an instruction and an order, not a request,” Vaz said.

Against that background, he said there is therefore no ban on ridesharing services in place at this time and the government has taken the decision to allow these entities to continue operating while the Authority continues to develop the regulatory framework.

He said commuters are however advised to exercise caution while engaging these applications until there is legislation in place to properly regulate the operation of this evolving transport mechanism.

Minister Vaz further indicated that while the announcement did not have the expected impact, it brought several ride-hailing operators to the table for much needed dialogue geared towards regulating and streamlining the service and public sensitisation of the possible dangers of using ride-sharing applications.