On a serious note, with the talk of taxi pricing...

[CosmicMoose]

Pretty sure this has to do with lack of awareness. Yes, Negril.com has definitely helped with the awareness, but how many visitors to Jamaica do not use this site? IMO, there needs to be a media campaign, maybe starting with JUTA and the tourism authority to help bring about awareness, maybe even using posters in the airport.

Some of these illegal taxis are highly rated on TripAdvisor! Yeah it may be a lot more work for them, but perhaps TripAdvisor should not allow ratings unless you're licensed and legally allowed to perform the service for which you are being rated on? I could see some sue happy people suing TripAdvisor, "well he was highly rated on your site."


Just my .02.

~Moose

[Mike_D]

Some of these illegal taxis are highly rated on TripAdvisor! Yeah it may be a lot more work for them, but perhaps TripAdvisor should not allow ratings unless you're licensed and legally allowed to perform the service for which you are being rated on?

Doesn't TripAdvisor already do some vetting of businesses before they can be listed on their site? I thought I heard that restaurants and hotels had to jump though hoops to get listed. I wonder why it's so easy for some non-red plates.

But yeah - I don't pay much attention to most of the TA rankings. Even some of their top ranked restaurants, I thought were just 'meh'.

[booger]

Doesn't TripAdvisor already do some vetting of businesses before they can be listed on their site? I thought I heard that restaurants and hotels had to jump though hoops to get listed. I wonder why it's so easy for some non-red plates.

But yeah - I don't pay much attention to most of the TA rankings. Even some of their top ranked restaurants, I thought were just 'meh'.

TA's vetting is lacking. I myself set up a driver on TA, and it was processed in a day or two. He is a red plate, has been for roughly 20 years just to be clear. I believe at the time I just had to show proof that he in fact had his own business, where I just shared the link to his website.

[Mike_D]

TA's vetting is lacking. I myself set up a driver on TA, and it was processed in a day or two. He is a red plate, has been for roughly 20 years just to be clear. I believe at the time I just had to show proof that he in fact had his own business, where I just shared the link to his website.

Crazy! I remember reading a story that explained how TA is no longer an impartial source for travel info, since they started booking hotels and allowing businesses to advertise on their site. I believe it said that site sponsorship actually gets factored in to a ranking. It also stated that there are marketing companies that can be hired to bost your ranking with artificial reviews. I will see if I can find the link...