Transport Authority considering request of Portland taxi operators

 

The Transport Authority says consideration will be given to granting licences for some Portland taxi operators to operate from Buff Bay to Port Antonio.

 

A number of taxi operators in Buff Bay briefly withdrew their service on Monday morning to call for the Transport Authority to extend the licences or issue new ones. 

 

The taxi operators, who currently operate from Port Antonio to Skibo, say that route is not lucrative while the Buff Bay to Port Antonio route is underserved. They pointed to the scores of commuters, including students, who were left stranded on Monday morning.  

 

Merdina Callum, the acting corporate communications manager at the Transport Authority, said the entity currently grants licences for buses to operate from Port Antonio to Buff Bay.

 

She said the entity's research department is trying to determine the number of licences that could be granted to taxi operators. 

 

"The Port Antonio to Buff Bay route is within the 30km required for route taxis, however, there has to be further investigations as to how that route will affect the now buses that are traversing that corridor. And so, the request that the taxi operators have made are under consideration and we are doing further investigation, and we will get back to them in short order," she said.  

 

Ms Callum urged the taxi operators to continue to operate on the Port Antonio to Skibo route until a decision is made.

 

She warned that if they traverse the Port Antonio to Buff Bay route, they would be "operating contrary to their licence and that cannot be facilitated right now".