I'm going to put my thoughts down when I get a chance to write.
I have unique perspective as a visitor, resident (but not of Negril) and principal investor in several ventures including a red plate (soon to be two).
I see both sides of the coin so to speak.
Negril is unique due to it's history unlike Ochi, Mobay or Town. Founded by the hippies in the 60s and 70s it tries to maintain that heritage but somehow become more of a "middle" style tourist destination.
More later
Cap
Linston's Zion Hill Taxi
Captain Dave
Dana1, I don't think Mike was saying "charter" a route taxi.
Stir IT UP
That is correct. Thanks Tizzy.Originally Posted by TizzyATX
And safety aside, it is just much more convenient to have a private ride. I can't ask a route taxi to wait for me outside the Scotia Bank while I hit the ABM, when he has a car load of passengers.
Last edited by Mike_D; 02-13-2014 at 10:36 AM. Reason: grammar
Let me clear up this charter business.
1. Non-Route Taxi Red plated vehicles that are totally used by visitors such as Seastar's bus driven by by Henry do not have a given route.
2. Route Taxi red plated vehicles have a specified route. Linston's route is Negril - Green Island. They are not allowed to pick up passengers when not on that route. (Although they do and they are breaking the law)
3. However, when a Route Taxi red plated vehicle has been "chartered" by an individual either Jamaican or visitor they may travel anywhere on the island with that charter.
4. They are required to place a "chartered" placard on their dash board the can be seen through the windshield. This tells anyone that sees them on some road other than their route that they are not acting as a route taxi and are not taking additional passengers.
Hope this clears up some questions
Cap
Linston's Zion Hill Taxi
Captain Dave
We are making our second trip to Negril in March and plan on taking the route taxis again. From a cost and convenience standpoint I thought they were fantastic. We always had 2 people and tipped accordingly. I'm sure the route taxi drivers appreciated our business. I'm not interested in haggling with a driver who wants double or triple what it should cost.
I'm sure the sponsored drivers are fantastic and maybe we will use them this trip too. But if I just need to go 1 mile down the road in the middle of the afternoon, a route taxi will work just fine.
If a Jamaican comes here should we let them ride public transportation? After all, it was designed to transport around our residents and is subsidized by the tax payers...
What I'd like to see is a guide for visitors on how to safely ride route taxis in Jamaica. I've learned tons in the recent threads on the topic, but it is from bits and bits here and there, not one post.
Smith had a wonderful guide on here a few years ago. Not sure if it is still around.
I get Rob's point. I would not recommend a new visitor use a route taxi.
But this board has discussions of illegal drug use, cliff jumping, and scooter rentals, all of which, IMO, are much more dangerous than a route taxi ride. And when someone mentions those activities, they do not seem to get shouted down in the same way as this topic does. Is this topic off limits? It seem that way.
The topics like you listed are all things where the tourist inflicts the harm upon themselves whereas a Route Taxi inflicts the damage on the tourist in some maner.
"Shouted down" seems unfair. People can discuss things without emotions taking over. This seems pretty tame to me. If you lived in Jamaica like I do you would see more "shouting down" during a domino game!
No it is not off limits and yes, Smith is still around. You can see his ramblings all over the board. Do a search on his name at the top.
Peace and Guidance
Free Opinions Offered. No tipping required. Hours: Open when I feel like it.
Hille,
As I have stated, the route taxi system was designed with the local populace in mind in areas where mass transit (large bus routes) simply were not an option. By law, they are not allowed to discriminate on who they pick up, so anyone is allowed to use them, but they were created with the locals in mind. They have to pick you up by law, but that does not mean that it was meant for you specifically.
As children, Jamaicans are taught by their family and teachers on how the system works and what to watch out for and what to do when things dont seem right. They then learn through years of daily usage the do's and dont's of using the route taxi system.
The easy to read "Visitors Guide" of safely getting around Jamaica would simply be to use the system that was specifically designed with tourists in mind, and that started with JUTA. Since then, there have been many other associations set up to serve the needs of our visitors. They are trained and certified by the Jamaica Tourist Board.
Jamaica is not Minnesota. It is not the USA. Most Jamaicans dont own cars and in the rural areas the route taxi system is their only option to get around. To compare the USA mass transit system to Kingston's mass transit system would be a fair comparison, you stand at the bust stop and jump on the next bus.
But to compare Negril's rural route taxi system to Minnesota's mass transit is not in any way a remotely fair comparison.
You can go ahead and use the system, it is illegal to stop you. But as Hussyband has pointed out by learning, yes LEARNING the hard way, even the most experienced travelers can get into bad situations.
It is up to you how much your safety means to you. If two dollars is too much, so be it. But you cannot say that you were not warned in advance if something bad happens...
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
Experienced travelers can get into bad situations using any transit system, regardless of whether it was "designed" for locals or visitors.
Sorry but I don't get why it's not a fair comparison to say route taxis are the equivalence to US Bus systems. Should I be outraged against people using our local transportation solutions because they're "designed" for locals?
The harsh reality is that private transport can often be way more confusing and more expensive than the route taxis, at least with the route taxis the fee is published so the tourists know what they're getting into.
Tourism makes up a huge chunk of the Jamaican economy, there needs to be a system in place to move tourists around that is safe and cost effective. Chartering a private taxi can be just as dangerous as taking a route taxi and MUCH more expensive, especially as a solo traveler.
If it's "dangerous" to take the local transportation system that needs to be addressed and changed, and not by discouraging people to use the local system.
Also I have to ask is this kind of topic not a conflict of interest for you? Just curious because if drivers advertise with you on your site it would obviously be in your best interest to push private transportation instead of route taxis. If you aren't taking any advertising money from drivers then my apologies, but it's always best to keep conflicts of interest out of a discussion IMO.
Last edited by Blake; 02-16-2014 at 04:47 PM.
I agree.
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