St Ann drivers await redress for damage from bad gas
Published:Tuesday | January 12, 2016 | 12:00 AM
OCHO RIOS, St Ann:
Marshall Pottinger, a St Ann taxi operator who plies the Exchange to Ocho Rios route, is one of several drivers in the parish affected by the recent bad gas saga and waiting to hear some word about compensation for their losses.
Pottinger said his motor car was affected four times by the bad gas, which resulted in him losing a lot of money in terms of repair costs and loss of earnings.
Pottinger said the bad gas damaged the injectors in the vehicle, forcing him to buy new ones and to clean those that could still be used.
"The first time it cost me $15,000, the second time it cost me $15,000, the next time me clean them it cost me $4,500, and the next time it cost me about $5,000," he told The Gleaner.
"If they block up they can clean, but if they burn, you have to change them," he explained. "Each injector cost $3,000, some place sell them for $4,000."
The taxi operator said each time his car is affected, he loses an entire day's earnings because sometimes the injectors are not readily available.
"We lose a lot of money because we spending and not earning anything."
He said he is calling on Petrojam or the service stations affected to come forward and deal with the issue.
"We think they should come forward and give us some explanation on what went wrong and how they going to deal with it so we get some compensation.
"All they talking about is Kingston and Montego Bay, but nobody come forward to talk to us here in Ocho Rios."
Pottinger is a member of the Mylex Taxi Association.
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell says the Government is paving the way for motorsists affected by contaminated gas to be compensated.