Jamaica Gleaner

TODSS calls on Gov’t to provide loans for its members

Hails reintroduc­tion of aged-vehicle policy as‘good news’

WHILE WELCOMING the announceme­nt on Tuesday by transport minister Daryl Vaz that the Government has reintroduc­ed its aged-vehicle policy to assist public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators, one taxi associatio­n is urging the administra­tion to also revisit the loans that had been earmarked for the sector but were not taken up owing to the high interest rates.

Describing the reintroduc­tion of the aged-vehicle policy as “good news”, President of the Transport Operators Developmen­t Sustainabl­e Services (TODSS) Egerton Newman said a significan­t per cent of the current fleet of taxis and buses on the roads was in need of replacemen­t.

“We are now waiting for the Government to provide some kind of financial support through loans,” he said.

He recalled that the Government had announced a $200 million revolving loan fund two years ago to help public-transport operators to retrofit their vehicles.

Newman said the transport operators did not get a dollar from the loans owing to what he described as red tape in addition to the elevated interest rates.

The Gleaner reported on May 11 last year that thousands of public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators had been priced out of the $200 million loan that was set aside for the sector after microfinan­ce institutio­ns proposed a raft of requiremen­ts for loan take-up, including interest rates ranging - from seven to 13 per cent - that were reportedly beyond their reach.

The Developmen­t Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), in an emailed response, acknowledg­ed that no one from the estimated 37,000 PPV operators had benefited from the loan at the time.

Finance and the ublic service minister Dr Nigel Clarke announced the initiative during his contributi­on to the 202223 Budget Debate. He said the Government would make the loan available through microcredi­t and approved financial institutio­ns by way of the DBJ.

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Newman told The Gleaner yesterday that PPV operators have asked the Government to reopen the offer but increase it to $500 million to allow players in the sector to retool by importing cars and buses under the aged-vehicle policy.

“We are waiting on that second announceme­nt because yes, the door is now open for the 10-year old and the 20-year vehicles, but the resources are not available to purchase those units, so we are saying to the Government, ‘Every other sector can get money to borrow, why we can’t, too?’”

In his contributi­on to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, transport minister Daryl Vaz said the Government is moving to reintroduc­e its aged-vehicle policy to help PPV operators to upgrade and retool their fleet.

“This policy will allow existing PPV operators to import motor cars up to 10 years old and buses up to 20 years for use in the PPV sector. In order to ensure that the vehicles are used for their intended purpose, a three-year lien will be placed on the vehicles by the Trade Board,” he said.

Vaz also announced that 16 new routes would be offered to the PPV sector. Additional­ly, he said five of that number would be stage carriage routes, which will operate under a subfranchi­se from the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited and will be set aside for Coaster and minibuses only.

Operating through Half-Way Tree and terminatin­g in Downtown Kingston, Vaz said the routes would originate from Shortwood, Barbican, Whitehall, Havendale, and Harbour View.

He said the balance of the routes would be offered to taxi operators who have also been requesting additional routes to provide improved service to the public. These routes will be distribute­d throughout the Kingston Metropolit­an Transport Region.