Several commuters have been left stranded as Jamaican taxi and bus operators carried out an island-wide strike after they voted on Sunday to withdraw their service in pursuit of a traffic ticket amnesty from the government.
The cabbies who held a meeting yesterday are requesting the amnesty because they are frustrated with the more punitive road traffic ticketing system.
They also expressed frustration over the possibility of being jailed for unpaid fines, many of which they say were issued unfairly.
Egerton Newman, president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), noted that while there has been a recent conversation with Minister of Information Robert Morgan, there is still no clear indication of whether the calls for amnesty will be granted.
Newman said it is unfair that the government is willing to facilitate a gun amnesty but not one for operators of taxis and buses.
“You can give the gunman amnesty to carry in the gun and you can’t give the taxpayers, taximan, busman an amnesty; who are willing to pay their tickets, all they want is a payment plan,” he said.
Newman also disclosed that operators would carry out an islandwide strike until their issue is addressed.
The Jamaican government has announced two traffic ticket amnesties in the past ten years.
An amnesty was declared by the government in 2012, which was extended from July 1 to December 31. The government collected approximately $340 million.
The second amnesty in 2017, generated $846 million. The government said more than $2 billion in outstanding tickets was uncollected at the time.
