By Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE ST. JAMES Parish Council, the police and taxi operators are collaborating on a plan to tackle traffic congestion in the city of Montego Bay.
As of May 24, taxi operators plying the Mt. Salem, Tucker, Retirement and John's Hall routes will be required to use the St. Claver Avenue Taxi Stand instead of the free-for-all parking system that now exists.
Additionally, those operators plying the Sangster International Airport and Flankers routes, will now be accommodated at the transport centre.
"We came up with the plan because we are all concerned about the congestion caused by taxis in Montego Bay," said Dion Chance, president of the St. James Taxi Association. "This is part of finding a solution to the problem."
The plan was devised in a meeting convened by the St. James Parish Council and involving representatives of taxi operators from throughout St. James, the traffic police, and officials of the Transport Authority.
From the outset, the councillors made it known that they would no longer tolerate the lawless and indiscriminate use of the streets by taxi operators, nothing that kind of behaviour contributed significantly to traffic pile-up throughout most of the city.
Mayor Noel Donaldson told the gathering that it could no longer be business as usual, blaming what he described as "indisciplined taxi operators", for the city's traffic problems.
