Transport Authority to roll out mandatory PPV certification programme

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, who made the disclosure, said that the measures are intended to formalise the sector as well as ensure safety on the roadways.

“The TA is looking to pool everything they have and set up a system where persons have to register, while doing in parallel the new process for PPV licences. By the start of the new financial year, both programmes will be fully rolled out,” he said.

He was addressing journalists during a tour of taxi stands in the Corporate Area on Monday (October 9) to observe the operations of the PPV sector.

Minister Vaz noted that the new system will make it mandatory for persons seeking a PPV licence to be certified.

“The TA is going to put together a process where anybody who wants to get a PPV licence has to do a course. The ITA [will not be able to] issue a PPV licence without certification from the TA, ensuring that this person has been trained for public passenger transport,” he pointed out.

“We will be able to weed those persons out by virtue of the fact that nobody will be able to get a PPV licence without going through the TA for certification. That certification will be islandwide at all TA depots,” he emphasised.

The tour was part of activities under ‘Operation Streamline’, a joint initiative of the TA, Island Traffic Authority (ITA) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), to rid the streets of rogue PPV drivers.

The Minister was accompanied by the Chairman of the TA, Owen Ellington; Managing Director of the TA, Ralston Smith; Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Gary McKenzie; route inspectors along with members from the PPV Steering Committee.

During the tour, Minister Vaz engaged with taxi operators, drivers, and other stakeholders to better understand the challenges and opportunities in the industry.

The Operation Streamline tour commenced at the North Odeon Avenue (Eastwood Park) taxi stand, and moved along Red Hills Road, on to Chancery and Constant Spring Road, into New Kingston and concluded in Barbican Square.