NEW Kingston Taxi Association President Conroy Nesbeth on Monday voiced objection to the sweeping description of cab drivers as evil despite an acknowledgement during a meeting called by the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) at Cross Roads, St Andrew, that there are some bad eggs operating in the sector.

“The disrespect to the sector is so bad that even a high-level member of Parliament went on a public platform broad-brushing the entire sector as evil, abusers and as rapists. That is wrong and irresponsible of any public official. He did it on a public platform. That is disrespect to the transport sector and to Jamaican people,” Nesbeth said.

His comments were directed at Jamaica Labour Party Deputy Leader Desmond McKenzie who, while on the hustings in Clarendon last month, urged Jamaicans to reject “evil” taxi men and the PNP’s opposition to the Government’s rural school bus programme.

“When the little young girls dem go inna the taxi, dem sit down inna some big old man lap and all sort of liberty take with the little pickney dem. You don’t consider the plight of the little pickney dem?” McKenzie questioned.

“We have some good taxi man, decent taxi drivers, but you have some of them, don’t trust them because they are evil. That is what PNP want to expose your children to,” McKenzie said.

His comments also came after a 44-year-old, St Catherine-based taxi driver, who pleaded guilty to routinely raping and trafficking his underage daughter and stepdaughter over several years, was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for those crimes.

He was also slapped with a similar sentence for raping another child, his next-door neighbour, around the same period of time. The sentences for the crimes against all three girls amount to just over 100 years. However, the sentences will run concurrently, making it so that he will serve the longest of the lot — 33 years and eight months — behind bars before he can apply for parole.

Lorraine Finnikin, spokesman for the route taxi associations within the Kingston Metropolitan Transportation Region, said he cannot deny that there are bad eggs in the system, however it was unfair to broad-brush the sector.

“We have substantial evidence to prove that we have criminal elements among us in the public transportation sector, as is every other sector, to include the churches. Our concern is that they are using a broad brush to paint the entire sector, based on pronunciations made by Government and the media. When these particular persons speak, they don’t speak like when the minister of national security and the commissioner of police speak as it relates to the criminals in the force,” he said.

The taxi operators also had complaints about what they described as injustice at the Traffic Court.

“Right now the Traffic Court and the Road Traffic Act is used as a weapon against the transport sector and Jamaicans in general. That needs to be rectified with immediate effect,” said Nesbeth.

“My personal belief is that no man or woman should support any man, woman, organisation or Government that is suppressing them or abusing them or violating their rights. I, for one, am looking forward to a change of Government,” he said.

Samuel Carty, president of the Cross Roads Taxi Owners and Operators Association, said it is now time for the ad hoc nature of the public transportation industry to change.

“It is flawed, and there are lots of ends to be ironed out. It is a system that has brought tremendous pressure to bear on operators. Some of them are indisciplined and refuse to conform to regulations. Basically, these are working people from varying backgrounds and should not be treated in any kind of pejorative manner. I think if we have a properly structured system with a total understanding between the transport authority, the police and all stakeholders, then it should be fine, but it is more like a hustle. We need to deviate from that,” Carty said.