By Tyrone Reid, Staff ReporterILLEGAL TAXI operators could soon face higher fines, says Robert Pickersgill, the Minister of Transport and Works.
"We have asked on numerous occasions for illegal operators to have their situations regularised and they have had time to regularise themselves, so nobody has any excuse now," Mr. Pickersgill told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
He said an amended legislation will be enacted soon in response to constant cries from the Transport Authority that the illegitimate taxi operators are scoffing at the fines that they pay after facing the courts. "For quite some time now they (legitimate taxi operators) have pointed out to me and the Ministry that the sanctions do not have enough teeth in them. We took quite some time to prepare the new sanctions to have the Attorney-General look at it and analyse it," Minister Pickersgill said.
CURRENT LEGISLATION WEAK
Joan Fletcher, Managing Director at the Transport Authority, reiterated that the current legislation was indeed weak. "We really need some teeth in the legislation; it is really difficult to work with the present legislation," she lamented. "The legislation is not at its best, so we are working with what we have (but) it is not sufficient and we would really love to see it amended to make it more effective."
Mrs. Fletcher said, as it now stands, the law offers no deterrent. "The situation is that some of these operators once prosecuted, go to court, pay the fine and then they are back on the road again." She also bemoaned a shortage in manpower which is adversely affecting the Transport Authority's ability to properly police the routes. "It is not the ideal numbers, but we are working with what we have."
