Mario James, Gleaner Writer

James

It is getting harder and harder for Jamaicans to behave in a civilised manner. The vestigial veneer of civility is slowly being stripped away by the spiralling cost of living. Gas is now nearing $100 a litre, with no end to the increases in sight. Our dependence on this thin, red oil is total. It is the lifeblood of modern commerce; civilisation needs a continued supply to function.

Society, divided essentially into the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', has always walked a thin line when it comes to rationalising the cost of fuel. A history of violent unrest attests to this. However, riots do not take place in Red Hills, Chancery Hall, Havendale or Smokey Vale. Is it endemic that the Jamaican intellect cannot find long-term solutions to anything?

capitalist thinking

Little by little, we are proving to ourselves that we are not quite ready for capitalist thinking. No- where is this proof more evident than in the privatised transport sector. When unrestrained business interests meet mass markets, a predictable chain of events is put into motion that has nothing to do with the public good.

The privatisation of the public transport sector could have been rationalised, given the political/economic climate it was conceived in. But its practical implementation was executed with neolithic incompetence. And even though some of the damage done has since been smudged over by the current hodgepodge between the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) and the National Transport Cooperative Society, the bad habits left over from the former transportation structure have come back to haunt us.

A fair share of the taxi drivers on the road do not own vehicles. That vehicle you have just stepped into is probably owned by a third party, who is either in a more secure job or owns a business that has enough savvy to break new ground. They (taxis) are piloted usually by young men, but increasingly by young women as well.

This is entrepreneurship at its most basic level. Bonded like serfs to their 'feudal chief', taxi drivers battle on the streets for a share in the returns gained by running a route 24/7.

At last check, to be profitable to the feudal lord, the 'entrepreneur' has to fork over more than $30,000 a month to 'di boss', feed himself and the car's wickedly unstable fuel 'habit'. All this under the spectre of a cap on fares.

So the inevitable happens. In order for the ransom to be paid, the only variable that can be changed by the 'entrepreneur' is the amount of money to be made in a day, which means that the number of trips in any given time span has to be maximised.

Which is none too healthy for the end user.

A taxi stops to allow commuters to cross the road in proximity to the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre. Route taxis dominate the transportation sector in Jamaica. - Anthony Minott/freelance photographer

biggest obstacle

Traffic congestion is the biggest obstacle these young men and women face in earning the 'quota'. The market is there, but as more and more young people see the sector as their godsend, the pot has to be getting smaller. The resulting pressures precipitate the kind of driving we see in the streets, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 11 innocent people in the last three weeks. This is aside from the carnage caused from the stupidity that exists wholesale on the roads.

Automotives really can't blame the 'entrepreneurs'. That would be tantamount to blaming fire for burning. They are doing what the system wants them to do. They are caught up in Hobson's choice.

Since we can say that market forces are a prime motivator for some of the carnage on our roads, and probably the root cause for road rage, let us use its far-reaching effects to shake up things a bit. First, make the JUTC an islandwide proposition. Hard to do, but then it becomes a no-brainer once it is understood how tightly intertwined such a facility is with the productivity of a nation. At the very least, the Ministry of Transport should look into lifting the fare cap for route, charter taxis and Coasters only, while holding reins on the JUTC prices.

The gas price tsunami should roll on, which would force these protagonists to increase their prices. This should swing the market back to the JUTC, which might go a long way towards alleviating some of the losses incurred there, and should start a Darwinian process in the privatised sector, which eventually would weed out the inefficient and put the power of choice back into the hands of the consumer.

Finally, and most important, it should give the taxi market share back to saner, older heads, proponents who understand that loading an ADWagon with 10 people and making a third lane while running at 100 km/h is not exactly the most efficient way to make a profit.

The sight of the mother of an accident victim crossing her womb and falling to her knees while emitting heart-rending, blood- curdling cries of grief should ALWAYS enact more emotion than the triggering of a car alarm.

But, alas, I fear the screams have already started to fall on indifferent ears.

mario.james@gleanerjm.com