Devon Dick

On Saturday, the Cabinet-approved route taxi fare increase of 25 per cent came into effect. This 25 per cent increase is the first increase since August 2005. Since 2005 the rate of inflation has been at least 40 per cent which means that the taxi operators are now 15 per cent worse off than they were in 2005. In addition, the inputs used by the taxi operators would more than likely have increased by much more than 40 per cent. It means that the taxi operators would be much more than 15 per cent worse off than in 2005. It seems therefore, that the government increase of 25 per cent to the route taxi operators is not fair.

The unfairness of the increase is borne out by the fact that the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) recommended 36 per cent. The OUR is a professional body which would have examined the facts of the case. The government should have accepted the professional advice of the OUR. Politics should not have been given more weight than professionals.

In addition, when since a government overrules the recommendation of the OUR? The government also needs to give a reason for this. It appears on the surface that the government is 'fighting' against the small man. The government accepted the OUR's recommended increase in relation to the National Water Communication (NWC). It accepts the recommendations for Jamaica Public Service company (JPS). However, the small taxi operators are treated differently.

Unjustified increase

The argument cannot be that the quality of the service is not acceptable. That is another issue. The regulators, that is, the Transport Authority, should monitor standards and have fines for infractions, but the taxi operators should get a fair fare increase.

The other problem with this unjustified increase is that it is institutionalising illegality. Two persons who use route taxis claim that they were already paying what was proposed as the new increase. It means that the operators have long been ignoring the rate established by the government and people know that it is unrealistic and so have been paying more. Last week, route taxis were charging each passenger $200 from the Jerk Centre in Ocho Rios to the Jamaica Grande Hotel. This disregard for law is a part of the problem in society. There needs to be a fair increase and the OUR's recommendation of 36 per cent should be accepted by the government.

Unreasonable

Furthermore, it is unreasonable to ask taxi operators to charge half fares for children and the elderly. This mandate is unfair and fraught with problems.

We do not tell supermarket operators to charge half price for basic items to children and the elderly so why should taxi operators have to carry that burden. Subsidies on transportation costs should be borne by the government. The elderly and children should be subsidised by the government through redeemable vouchers!

Already, too many children are being molested by taxi operators. By asking taxi operators to subsidise the fares of children, the society is tacitly facilitating the corrupting of the children. It would perhaps be more acceptable if taxi operators were to be prevented from transporting children. Many taxi operators will only accept children as passengers when these children are willing to pay the rest of the fare in kind. And many schoolgirls know that to get a free ride they have to be friendly with taxi operators. The only way children should be in a taxi is with parental presence.

In Florida, on a government-owned train it costs students US$2 for a distance of 120 miles. Our government should provide school buses for children to go to school and not rely on taxis to provide a subsidised ride.

The government should grant the route taxi operators a fare increase of 36 per cent which would be fair.

Rev Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of "Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building"; feedback columns@ gleaner@gleanerjm.com