Leaders of route taxi associations within the Kingston Metropolitan Transportation Region say they fully support the Government’s decision to make 23 additional routes available for application by licensed Public Passenger Vehicle (PPV) operators. 

Last Wednesday, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz revealed that the Transport Authority and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) had finalized the conversion of 11 JUTC bus routes to PPV taxi routes.

He said applications for the converted routes opened last month and that an additional 12 routes were requested from the JUTC for taxis.

The move was not well-received by Mr. Vaz’s opposition counterpart, Mikael Phillips, who said the JUTC’s decision to abandon the 23 routes represented a major breach of the company’s exclusive licence under the Public Passenger Transport Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region Act.

However, Group Spokesman for five route taxi associations in the KMTR, Lorraine Finnikin said operators have welcomed the move. 

Mr. Finnikin added that it marks a critical milestone in achieving improved service delivery and formalization within the KMTR.

He said the approval of these routes will among other things, allow members to operate legally on designated corridors, previously assigned to the JUTC and reduce tensions between operators and the police.