Taxis, buses back on the route after a crippling sit-down

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Taxis and passenger buses began rolling out in full Wednesday morning following two days of strike that left commuters stranded across sections of the island and massive loss of production.

The directive to return to work came on the heels of a meeting with Minister of Transportation Audley Shaw and the Transport Authority Tuesday afternoon.

President of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), Egerton Newman, said in a release that the meeting was cordial and they were satisfied with the outcome.

“[The] meeting was the type of meeting we wanted and we got it, the members outlined their concerns and the challenges they faced in the sector that lead to our request for a payment plan to freely make good on our outstanding traffic tickets,” the release said.

After listening to the varied concerns the minister asked that the transport operators put in place a proposal outlining the request for a payment plan, and how it could be implemented. The plan is to be presented to Cabinet next Monday.

“Let me on behalf of TODSS thank everyone who attended the meeting… with the Minister of Transport and Mining Audley Shaw and his team from the Ministry and the Transport Authority. 

Let me specially thank the JATOO [Jamaica Association of Transport Owners and Operators] team the One Voice Team and the Hackney Carriage Federation team,” he noted.

He said all transport operators will be back on the job and implored his colleagues to “continue to provide the best travel experience to the commuting public and work towards reducing indiscipline in the sector”.

Transport operators withdrew their services Monday, almost grinding the country to a halt and causing reported losses in production of some 50 percent.

On Tuesday, some schools remained closed because of the protests action.

The operators wanted the government to grant them a reprieve to pay outstanding traffic tickets.