ST JAMES, Jamaica — Pointing to a number of factors expected to impact the movement of traffic in and out of the western city, Mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon is calling for central government to move ahead with a long-awaited upgrade of the transportation centre.

“We have the perimeter road coming, soon to be completed [and] we have 70 per cent of the flights coming into Jamaica coming through the Sangster International Airport so we have a lot of ground movement in Montego Bay, so we need it,” Vernon told Observer Online in a recent interview.

“With what is to come in the Negril area, the Hanover area and the continuous build out of the western belt and Montego Bay being the central point of that, we must organise transportation now. Not in the future, now! That will help us to position ourselves for further growth and development in the city of Montego Bay and the western end of the country,” Vernon insisted.

A transportation centre on Barnett Street currently serves as the primary location but it is not large enough so there are also a number of satellite taxi stands in the city.

With the addition of buses to the Montego Bay Metro fleet and recent introduction of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company’s (JUTC) Montego Bay to Kingston Express route, more vehicles have been added to the hundreds of taxi and bus operators who were already in the space.

“Montego Bay has the most robust transportation sector in Jamaica and we need to organise transportation. To organise transportation, we need a transportation centre so we can have properly planned routes, timing, pick up, drop-off locations and remove the random and satellite taxi stands across the city of Montego Bay,” Vernon insisted.

These taxi stands, he said, while serving a purpose, also prove to be a challenge as they contribute to traffic snarls, “unsafe operations and also putting many of our citizens at risk”.

“It is a significant contributor to congestion, especially at peak hours, so I continue to call on the Government to look at a transportation hub for the city of Montego Bay. One that will be treated as a national project, not as a regular set up for buses and taxis. A strategic national transportation centre for the western end of Jamaica,” he appealed.

At least two transport ministers, Audley Shaw and the current holder of the position, Daryl Vaz, have in the past acknowledged that such a development is necessary. A section of lands belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation has been looked at with a view of utilising it for the expansion. Efforts to get an update from Vaz were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile president of the St James Taxi Association Dion Chance is among those looking forward to improved conditions.

“Without a doubt, we need something big enough to accommodate every taxi route so you can start in one area and then you have some shops and supermarkets in it,” he said.

“Persons who leave Freeport and going home, instead of going downtown to buy, they can come out of taxi, buy what them buying, jump into a next taxi and go home,” Chance added.

He believes this is the only solution to the current congestion and the persistent problem of passengers being picked up and dropped off on the side of the road.

“From what I know, there are plans afoot to do some work on all transport centres island wide. However, in respect to a timeline or a timetable, I don’t have that yet,” Chance told Observer Online.

For now, even as he continues to agitate, Vernon acknowledged positive spin-offs from some of the very initiatives that are posing a challenge — such as the JUTC’s new route.

“The connection between Montego Bay and Kingston is very important to the life of Jamaica’s economy. One is a city that deals with tertiary offices and one is a resort city. You know that the Jamaican economy is very dependent on tourism so moving goods and services from one side to the next quickly is very important,” he stated.

“But more importantly is the movement of our people. We also note that persons in western Jamaica have to move to Kingston for university and many other services that are critical to business,” the mayor added.

He explained that it is important that travelling of this nature is done in an effective, safe and affordable way.

“We are looking forward to embracing it as we move forward; not just to do it in a piecemeal way but to look at a proper expansion for the transportation sector,” Vernon declared.

He also had a message for those who may be concerned about what it might mean in terms of competition.

“Some persons might argue that it provides competition for what already exists but competition is good, competition also helps to manage prices and that is something that is healthy for our economy at this point in time,” Vernon declared.