KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s island-wide network of taxi and public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators are adopting a cautious, wait-and-see stance after Minister of Transport Daryl Vaz publicly committed to holding negotiations with toll road operators by June. The talks will explore the feasibility of rolling out a specialized discounted toll rate for PPV operators, who frequently traverse the island’s toll highways multiple times per day.
Vaz made the announcement during a Monday press briefing held at the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in St Andrew, an event organized to address longstanding frustration over an unfulfilled 16% fare increase that was agreed upon for public transport operators back in 2023. The minister noted that the proposal for the concessionary toll rate was first brought to his department by the Transport Authority, and he has made it a priority to advance the talks before the end of next month.
“I want to give you a commitment that I’m going to pursue in June, a negotiation with the toll operators to see whether or not we can come up with some concessionary toll fee for the public transport operators who apply those routes on a daily basis and sometimes several times for the day,” Vaz stated. He added that toll operators already hold existing concession agreements with the Jamaican government, creating a framework for discussion on further adjustments for PPV operators.
The minister emphasized that his department has prioritized support for the struggling public transport sector in recent months, pointing to previous policy changes that opened up under-serviced routes previously controlled by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) to independent operators. He noted that, unlike private motorists and commercial businesses, public transport operators rely on toll roads far more heavily for their daily income, creating a strong case for a targeted usage-based discount.
“I think that will go a far way in easing some of the burdens and the stresses that the public transport operators are facing… I just want to indicate that I’m very well aware of the challenges that you are facing,” Vaz said.
Despite the minister’s public reassurances, sector leaders have pushed back on framing the toll concession as a solution to the industry’s core grievances. Charles Powell, president of the Southern Taxi Operation, argued that the transport sector has long been sidelined by government policymakers, and that current operating costs already leave most operators running at a loss rather than turning a profit.
“The Minister of Transport, does not recognise and respect the transport sector. If they respect the transport sector, they will do something for us. This is the only sector the government doesn’t look out for. They push us away. If you check the maintenance cost of a vehicle, it is a loss, not a win win,” Powell told local outlet Observer Online.
Powell explained that while the discounted toll rate would deliver modest benefits to the small subset of PPV operators that regularly use toll highways, it would do nothing to address the needs of the vast majority of the sector. He added that the government’s top priority should be fulfilling the 2023 written agreement to implement the 16% fare increase, rather than focusing on a policy that only benefits a small group of operators.
“What we want is the 16 per cent increase where we have signed off on with a written agreement from 2023. Few taxi operators and bus people use the toll. So, you are not going to help the vast majority of operators, only a few. So, I am not with that….. But it is good for who is using the toll,” Powell argued.
Other sector leaders have opted to withhold comment on the announcement, choosing instead to wait for the outcome of the Jamaican Cabinet’s scheduled decision on the issue on June 1, leaving the industry in a holding pattern as stakeholders await further action from the government.