Route Taxi Fares

[Irine]

I know they are trying to do the right thing as law makers, but the whole thing bums me out. I've been riding with the same non-plated driver for years now, he's become my friend. We go on up to his house at the head of the roaring river and eat an hang out with his sister and kids, I'm really torn on this one. I know there are great red plate drivers out there, but this man is my friend and now I can't ride with him? Is there anyway we could explain that to the authorities if they pulled us over? Need to start Jamaican Uber driver. Rob, do they have anything like Uber on the rock?

[Bnewb]

I know they are trying to do the right thing as law makers, but the whole thing bums me out. I've been riding with the same non-plated driver for years now, he's become my friend. We go on up to his house at the head of the roaring river and eat an hang out with his sister and kids, I'm really torn on this one. I know there are great red plate drivers out there, but this man is my friend and now I can't ride with him? Is there anyway we could explain that to the authorities if they pulled us over? Need to start Jamaican Uber driver. Rob, do they have anything like Uber on the rock?

You never could ride with him legally as a paying customer. He was engaging you in an illegal act.
As far as proving it to authorities...you're a tourist...unless you have family here when you visit, it's going to be looked at as a client/customer relationship.

[Rob]

There should not be anything to be torn about. It is how things work here, "the runnings" as they say.

The majority of tour operators started as route taxi drivers. Currently, route drivers pay between $5000-$7000 per day for 5 days, get one day off and one day they make all the money for themselves.

The owner of the vehicle pays for all the legalities. Fees, insurance and whatnot. They earned and deserve their money.

I have had route driver friends tell me that they can't afford it anymore and are going to stop driving. Equally, I have had tour drivers tell me that they are going back to be a route driver because the legalities are too high for them to make any money.

There is always a cost of doing business, and when non-legit entities take advantage of the system, it only raises the cost for the legit operators.

If you really want to help the Negril and Jamaican economy, support the legal businesses. Each time you use non-legit "business" you simply raise the cost of doing business for all the legit operations.

If you have a friend you really want to help, help them become a business person. That means getting registered, licensed, legal and insured. They will need to know that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Help them learn what business means and don't be their crutch as much as that temporarily makes us feel good.

Be part of the solution....

[brownsd54]

I know they are trying to do the right thing as law makers, but the whole thing bums me out. I've been riding with the same non-plated driver for years now, he's become my friend. We go on up to his house at the head of the roaring river and eat an hang out with his sister and kids, I'm really torn on this one. I know there are great red plate drivers out there, but this man is my friend and now I can't ride with him? Is there anyway we could explain that to the authorities if they pulled us over? Need to start Jamaican Uber driver. Rob, do they have anything like Uber on the rock?

You also have to remember that travel insurance policies say you are covered for accident insurance provided you are in a licenced transportation service. If you are out with a "friend", driving around and not in a licenced red plate, and heaven forbid there's an accident your medical care will be at the mercy of the Jamaican insurance provider. That's not a pretty picture. I have dealt with Jamaican insurance and it's pretty much "yeah, you have no coverage. Let us know how it work out for you".

P/S was in Duluth for the airshow in June. Duluth might be the most beautiful city in all the USA.

[Irine]

You also have to remember that travel insurance policies say you are covered for accident insurance provided you are in a licenced transportation service. If you are out with a "friend", driving around and not in a licenced red plate, and heaven forbid there's an accident your medical care will be at the mercy of the Jamaican insurance provider. That's not a pretty picture. I have dealt with Jamaican insurance and it's pretty much "yeah, you have no coverage. Let us know how it work out for you".

P/S was in Duluth for the airshow in June. Duluth might be the most beautiful city in all the USA.

Thanks for good advice, food for thought for sure. We do love living in Duluth, it is beautiful here for sure. We spend a lot of our time out in our boat.