Pickersgill
Noel Thompson, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
A MEETING between Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill, the Transport Authority and taxi operators in Montego Bay ended in confusion and without resolution yesterday.
At the end of the three-hour meeting, Mr. Pickersgill said he could not offer any solution to any of the concerns raised by the taxi men who, earlier this week, demonstrated in demand of a roll back of traffic fines and fees announced by the Ministry of Finance.
Subsequent to his statement, scores of angry taxi operators stormed out of the Wexford Court Hotel. Some of them told him, point-blank, that come Monday, they would resume blocking the streets of Montego Bay to vent their disapproval.
The disgruntled taxi men had asked the Minister to roll back the fees, but an adamant Mr. Pickersgill repeatedly replied: "I am not in any rollback business. I have no such authority. That's not within my competence. I think the fines are justified. The message here is that if you have grouses the first line of action ought not to be demonstration, but dialogue and my doors are open."
The operators also cried foul at the fact that the police were regularly targeting them, while turning a blind eye to their colleagues who were operating taxis illegally, or have persons operating the vehicles on their behalf.
In response, Mr. Pickersgill said he would welcome a tripartite meeting with himself, the taxi men and the police to iron out some of the allegations levied at members of the police force.
"I cannot go by the hear-says, I want to deal with it on a face-to-face basis. I would like to have this meeting held, certainly between a week to a month," he said.
Questioned about the purpose of these meetings, Minister Pickersgill replied: "Two arguments were raised - fines and fees. The fees are within the competence of my ministry. But when I look at them, as I speak, there is no justification (for a roll back). When you calculate the $15,000 fee on a yearly basis it works out to about $2 per day," he said.
An agitated Pickersgill said: "Why are you demanding a roll back in fines? All you have to do is behave legally and lawfully."
Asked what would be the purpose of having follow-up meetings then, he said: "There is always sense in having a meeting. The face-to-face dialogue. There is no substitute for a meeting." Mr. Pickersgill also promised that he would be meeting with taxi operators across the island on a parish-by-parish basis to discuss their grouses.
Member of Parliament for Northwest St. James, Dr. Horace Chang, said that he was not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, but he believed significant progress had been reached.
"I know that the Minister cannot speak publicly on the question of legal matters and I would not force him to do that, because it would be out of order. It seems clear to me, from what the Transport Authority says, that there is a misinterpretation of section 126 of the traffic regulations and wants to clarify that primary dispute," he said.
Dr. Chang said he wished to continue dialogue with the Transport Ministry, the St. James Police and the Parish Council as well as the Transport Authority with a view to organise proper termination points, among other operational hiccups facing the taxi men in the city.
"At this stage we don't want anymore roadblocks. I have told my operators not to go that route, but to continue the dialogue and I'm sure we can settle the issues.
