While expressing willingness to be registered in a specific licence category, rideshare drivers are pushing back against the stipulation by the Transport Authority that they act as public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators.

It’s against the background of what the operators claim is persecution by the authority, which has been using covert tactics to seize hundreds of private vehicles in an intensified push against unlicensed use of rideshare apps.

“You have the transport authority setting up people to book rides and then taking away cars,” said Solomon, a driver who spoke to Observer Online.

The authority, which is responsible for regulating and monitoring the public transportation system, did not detail what covert tactics it uses, but maintains that it is enforcing the law.

The Transport Authority Act does not speak specifically to ride-share apps, however, it makes provisions for inspectors to seize a vehicle being operated or used as a public passenger vehicle without a licence for such activities.`

Solomon and Voice, two ride-share drivers who spoke to the Observer, requesting that their full names be withheld out of fear of retaliation, put forward that they are willing to become registered under a government scheme, but not at the cost of changing out their private vehicle plates for PPV licences.

“I would suggest they could get some form of ID for us, since they want to keep a track of us, and we get a little sticker, put on the car, and we pay a fee per month. I am willing to do that, and I’m very sure that other drivers would do the same,” said Voice, who has been operating as a ride-share driver for over two years.

She added, “We don’t want to turn our personal vehicles into red plates. We are not taxis. We have some passengers that we are informing now that that’s the way the government wants us to go, and they are saying that they are not going to take any form of red plate cars.  So you see, in every way, we are going to get hit.”

When the Jamaica Observer spoke to Transport Authority Managing Director Ralston Smith, he maintained: “The law of Jamaica requires that any person providing [a ride] for hire or reward needs a road license. With or without the ride-hailing framework, it does not negate the need and the obligation imposed on the person providing the service to obtain a licence.”

He confirmed the authority has been targeting those using applications such as Uber and inDrive, and seizing their vehicles, “similar to how we seize the other vehicles that are out there running up and down picking up certain passengers without a license.”

A July press release indicated that the authority had intensified its drive against private carriers illegally offering services through rideshare apps like InDrive and Uber, resulting in 273 vehicle seizures in three months, with plans to continue those operations.

The authority went on to encourage passengers to report private carriers who turn up to transport them when they charter a ride using rideshare services.

Smith said the statement was made in a bid to increase public awareness for passengers and even ride-share operators who may have been unaware that they need a licence to operate.

The drivers told the Observer that they, and others, are now afraid to accept ride-share jobs, uncertain if they are going to be picking up an operative.

Citing the difficulty of the job market and low wages, they explained that opening their vehicles to passengers via rideshare apps presents a financial opportunity that is lacking elsewhere in the economy.

Voice indicated that she had hustled to get by with different minimum wage jobs, prior to her ride-share gig.

“For me, my [whole] life has been a rough patch, because my mom dropped out (died) when I was 15 and from I was 18, I worked at supermarkets as a bag wrapper, security for 10 years…and also call centres. None of those could actually help me out. It was just hand to mouth, just keeping a roof over my head, sending my son to school and putting a little food on the table, but I could not save anything at all.  And since I’ve gotten into [rideshare], I see where my life is better off,” she explained.

“I can save a little money, not much, but I can save a little and I can help my son to further his education, [I changed] the school that he was at, and the school fee is way more expensive now.  But education is the key to success, so I have to do what I have to do as a single mother,” Voice added.

Smith, however, said the authority “cannot sacrifice legality at the altar of expediency,” adding that targeting operators acting outside of their licences was not a new phenomenon.

“We would have been doing it for months and months, and year over. Part of this is to send the signal to the general public, the person going to book the ride and the persons who are providing the ride, that the authority is acting against it, and that a license is required to provide the service,” Smith said.

However, the drivers expressed concern that some Transport Authority inspectors and lawmen are going too far.

“The police right now, they are stopping your vehicle and they are questioning both you and your passenger, asking both parties if you are an Uber driver… where you’re going…which I think is going way too far,” Voice said.

The drivers are adamant that they provide a necessary service for Jamaicans, especially in the Corporate Area.

“You have officials, tourists, etc, who use the apps, I remember even a US expat who asked me to pick up their child, a little four-year-old child, to take to the embassy,” Solomon explained.

Voice added, “The poor, the rich, the indifferent, we carry everybody. I’m not sure how many trips Solomon has underneath his belt, but I’m almost up to 6,500 trips, presently with 4.98 ratings.”

Smith addressed whether he expected the operation to affect the transportation ecosystem.

“Not at all. In fact, I expect the total opposite, I expect persons to follow the rule of law to get in line to get the appropriate license and insurance adequate enough to cover their passengers in the event of any eventuality…whenever we act, we act in the best interest of the public,” he maintained.

Solomon cited Jamaica’s ambitions to become a “first world technology-driven country,” maintaining, “As a government, they’re supposed to say, okay, ‘what do the people want?’ Just like they’re eradicating registration stickers, going digital, people doing the rideshare can have a sticker that lawmen can use to identify, ‘okay, this is a rideshare’.”

The drivers acknowledged that there were safety concerns regarding rideshare operators but insisted that this was no more than what already exists in the public passenger system. They cited complaints from passengers about reckless driving including excess speed, loud music and overall discomfort when travelling with licensed route and hackney carriage drivers.

In response to these concerns, Smith admitted that the authority was aware and is working toward a solution.

“Driver behaviour and discipline are [issues] that we are focusing strongly on. The authority has a driver training programme for drivers and conductors, that’s what we are seeking to put our drivers through in the hope that training will impact and change behaviour,” he said.

Smith declined to comment on whether or not there would be a special licence classification for rideshare drivers in the upcoming National Ride-Hailing Policy currently being developed by the Ministry of Transport, indicating that that was the purview of the permanent secretary.