Taxi operators who ply the Mountain View to Half-Way-Tree route in St Andrew park their motor vehicles on Hope Road in St Andrew to protest the proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Act, among other things, yesterday.

OPERATORS of public passenger vehicles (PPV) who ply the Mountain View to Half-Way-Tree route in St Andrew, yesterday withdrew their services in protest of the proposed amended Road Traffic Act, which they say will likely put an end to their livelihood.

The new Road Traffic Act, which will repeal and replace the existing 1938 Act, was passed with amendments in the House of Representatives last week Tuesday. The amendments have been sent to the Senate for approval.

“The police have us under so many pressure out here, more than any other civilians because we are transporting passengers from point A to point B. Without us transporting the people to point A to B, there would be no work,” taxi operator Kirk Baker told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“The Jamaican Urban Transport Company (JUTC) [buses] alone cannot carry the people them. The JUTC break down, it is not a good service. We come together as taxi operators now, start transporting people left, right and centre, and now it is like we a criminal, we commit a crime [or] we doing a great offence, and that is not right. There is none of us working who leave our home and come out here to just get [traffic] ticket. We have a family and we have responsibility,” Baker continued.

Scores of commuters were left stranded as PPV operators parked their taxis on Hope Road in the vicinity of Winchester Business Centre and Brooklyn Supermarket. They were adamant that their issues and concerns needed to be addressed, with some of them even causing passengers to disembark taxis belonging to their colleagues who sought to capitalise on the strike under the watchful eyes of police officers.

Another operator, who declined to give his name, said that gunmen are safer than taxi operators.

“The eyes are on taxi operators only, because daily in the streets right now, a man wi a walk pass with him gun while a policeman a write up ticket and the man gone kill somebody. Mi see it happen ’round a Derrymore Road last week. How much police in a Half -Way- Tree? Do the stats — about 50 police inna Half-Way-Tree and dem go right there suh go kill a businessman.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/taxi-drivers-under-pressure-protest-new-road-traffic-act_150116