KINGSTON, Jamaica — The highly-anticipated policy to accommodate ride-sharing services, which have thoroughly woven themselves into the fabric of the urban Jamaican transportation system, is expected to be tabled in Parliament in a few months.

“The plan really is to create a robust regulatory framework to ensure safety of both commuters and drivers. So the plan is not to ban ride-hailing, in fact it will become a very important part of the transport ecosystem,” Managing Director at the Transport Authority, Ralston Smith, told Observer Online.

The head of the regulatory agency, which oversees public passenger vehicles and commercial carriers, made the remarks against the background of the disappearance of university student Anisa Dilworth, who is feared to have been murdered, and the subsequent arrest of an inDrive driver in relation to the matter.

Dilworth’s disappearance came less than a year after primary school teacher, Danielle Anglin, was abducted and murdered after using a ride-share service. The driver, a convicted sex offender, was arrested for the murder but committed suicide while in custody.

At the time, Minister of Transport Daryl Vaz had recommended a ban on ride-share apps in the country with immediate effect. However, that plan was aborted due to the absence of legislation to support the action.

Vaz now says the National Ride-Hailing Policy is in the process of being created to regulate the sector. He said members of the public will have the opportunity to assess it in about three months’ time once the policy reaches Parliament as a Green Paper.

With banning the apps off the table, tracking ride-share drivers is one thing the government is considering as it works on the creation of the regulatory framework.

“The framework will propose, of course, a database that retains and tracks the vehicle and would provide the passengers with some kind of response mechanism in the case of any kind of distress,” Smith explained.

Popular ride-sharing app Uber has several safety features allowing riders to share their location as well as quickly access emergency services. inDrive also has a host of security features, including driver verification and real time location services.

Smith emphasised that the government was considering its own systems

“There are considerations for localised applications, in fact there are a number [of them] on the market and those applications are being perfected and further developed as we speak,” he said.

The government has also turned its attention to stricter vetting of drivers locally.

“The regulatory framework will seek to ensure that the drivers who are approved for ride-share operations pass through what we call fit and proper testing, so far as having a clean police certificate,” Smith explained.

In addition to this, the director indicated that potential drivers will be exposed to training to ensure that they “provide good efficient service and are aware of the safety requirements.”

As the policy development continues, Vaz stresses that most of the rideshare companies with operations in Jamaica are now cooperating with the government and “following set guidelines, provided by the Transport Authority and the Jamaica Constabulary Force.”

– Dana Malcolm