Westmoreland cabbies get temporary relief
Permission granted to pick up, drop off passengers along Great George Street until Nov 30
Published:Tuesday | November 1, 2022 | 12:09 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The police and Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) have yielded to the demands of disgruntled taxi operators for them to pick up and set down passengers along Great George Street in Savanna-la-Mar in an attempt to quell opposition to a public order operation that began started three weeks ago.
“I do not want, in any way, to hinder anyone from making a livelihood. Therefore, I have decided, in conjunction with the Transport Authority, that we will relax the prosecutions for taxi operators who do not have Great George Street on their licence to go downtown,” Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs, head of the Westmoreland Police Division, told taxi operators in a meeting on the weekend.
He said the new provision will come to an end on November 30.
“You’re getting a one-month trial run, and we’re going to see how the taxi operators operate, how you respond, and then we will have dialogue, discussions, recommendations as to whether or not we think it can work,” he explained.
That decision was made following protests by the taxi operators, who withdrew their services for a few days and marched on to the Transport Authority’s compound in Savanna-la-Mar to protest aspects of the public order clampdown, which is seeking to retake control of the streets of the Westmoreland capital from unruly motorists and taxi operators.
Taxi operators will now also be required to pay a $100 daily fee to use the Old Forte Car Park at the end of Great George Street to pick up and set down their passengers, following complaints that the transportation centre in Savanna-la-Mar could not accommodate all vehicles.
“I had a discussion with the police, and I have also spoken to the mayor (Bertel Moore) to allow taxi operators to go into that park,” said WMC CEO Marvalyn Pitter at the meeting, which was held at the Godfrey Stewart High School. “Not to park, but to go through if you have to pick up your passengers and you head out. ... We need to finalise that discussion going forward because we, too, have recognised the challenges that the commuters face and want to appease the situation.”
She added: “We want to have some order in the town, and we are expecting that the operators will comply. I have seen quite a bit of compliance, and I am most grateful for that.”
Arnold Tomlinson, who operates a taxi along the Savanna-la-Mar to Whitehouse route, is welcoming the decision.
“We hope (that) we – the taxi operators – will abide by what the parish council and the police have said and see how it will work,” he told reporters. “Now I am giving thanks that I can now go downtown.”
Taxi operator George McKenzie also encouraged fellow cabbies to comply.
“We need to police each other to make sure it works because if it doesn’t work, it is our bread and butter that is going to be affected,” he said.