I love route taxis

[Rob]

...How many incidents other than the one last year involved a route taxi robbing it's passenger?...

Blake,

As I have stated, here is my quote from that exact same question already asked:

"...Believe what you want and travel how you want. But to answer your question, I have heard of too many incidents around the island involving tourists, even though one is still too many.

Negril is a rather small town with a population hovering around 5000 and receives lesser numbers of visitors to the island than MoBay or Ocho Rios, so the number of incidents here are relatively small. But there have been incidents reported all around the island, in Hanover (not Negril), several in St James, a few more in the north coast areas and of course Kingston. "

There have been incidents happening to Jamaicans using unfamiliar route taxis. Some have ended up much worse than a robbery.

The point of Negril.com, the reason I created it back in 1995, was to promote Negril in such a way that visitors to the island would be given the best information available to make their vacation the best possible.

Being in the position of knowing that incidents have increased around the island last year and also owning and operating Negril.com does put me in a difficult position. There is no doubt about that. But I do feel that it is time to take the stance that there are inexpensive and easy options to using the route taxi system. Just as when I started Negril.com, we didnt warn about walking the beach at night because there were very few if any problems. But in the last 20 years, that has changed and we now recommend not to walk in the unlit areas of the beach at night. It is simply not a smart thing to do. Of course you can do it and people still do, but you are increasing your risk factor.

I now feel the same about the visitors using unfamiliar route taxis as more incidents occurred last year and one exact example from Negril veterans has been relayed here for all to learn from. It is not fear mongering, it is more of a case of a common sense safety issue. For visitors, I no longer can feel comfortable advising them to use a system that they are not familiar with and that was not designed to transport them in the first place.

You can think I am biased all you want. And if you define being biased as providing the best safety information possible to make all of our visitors have the best vacation possible, then I will wear that biased badge proudly. But the fact of the matter is that we have route taxi drivers advertising with us to provide charter taxi services for our visitors.

Can the system be improved? Of course it can. Can standard rates be set and enforced for charter drivers? Possibly but very unlikely since Jamaica is one of the most capitalistic societies on the planet. Will there be a true mass transit system set up for Negril in the future? Of course there will be. But until that happens, just as until the unlit areas of the beach are lit up at night, I cannot responsibly recommend that visitors to our island use a route taxi system of which they have little or no knowledge.

Blake - now a question for you - how many, what percentage of visitors to Negril would read and know what the "Lilliput" marking on the route taxi meant and would know not to use that route taxi? The percentage of Jamaicans in Negril who would know not to get into that route taxi would be very close to 100%. If you feel the percentage of visitors would be rather small, then you know the reason why I do not feel comfortable recommending visitors using the route taxi system.

[Blake]

Blake,
I now feel the same about the visitors using unfamiliar route taxis as more incidents occurred last year and one exact example from Negril veterans has been relayed here for all to learn from. It is not fear mongering, it is more of a case of a common sense safety issue. For visitors, I no longer can feel comfortable advising them to use a system that they are not familiar with and that was not designed to transport them in the first place.

Perhaps it's time for Negril to consider improving the transit system in place then, if the only SAFE solution for visitors is to take private cabs, that's not a solution, it's a bandaid and results in only a few "reliable" cab drivers being used.

Can the system be improved? Of course it can. Can standard rates be set and enforced for charter drivers? Possibly but very unlikely since Jamaica is one of the most capitalistic societies on the planet. Will there be a true mass transit system set up for Negril in the future? Of course there will be. But until that happens, just as until the unlit areas of the beach are lit up at night, I cannot responsibly recommend that visitors to our island use a route taxi system of which they have little or no knowledge.

Why is it so hard to have set prices for the services rendered? I would NEVER run a business where I was not upfront with my customers about the prices for services/products rendered. If cab drivers want to be taken seriously they need to set prices that are easy for customers to understand instead of hoping that the customer doesn't want to negotiate their "stated" rates.

Blake - now a question for you - how many, what percentage of visitors to Negril would read and know what the "Lilliput" marking on the route taxi meant and would know not to use that route taxi? The percentage of Jamaicans in Negril who would know not to get into that route taxi would be very close to 100%. If you feel the percentage of visitors would be rather small, then you know the reason why I do not feel comfortable recommending visitors using the route taxi system.

I would say about the same percentage of people visiting the DC area region that are familiar with the taxi cab system, zones,bus systems, or whatever mode of transportation they choose to use.

YES, there are risks associated with each transportation system, that doesn't mean they should be considered UNSAFE to use by visitors. People get mugged on buses in the US, that doesn't mean I won't advocate taking a bus because the inherent risk is minimal once you put it in perspective of the number of people using said transportation systems.

In my opinion you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater by saying route taxis aren't safe based on "incidents" that are newsworthy, they're newsworthy because they are NOT an everyday occurrence.

Please consider it logically, even if every single person visiting Negril uses private cabs it will just "force" the bad apples to change how they operate, instead of being robbed in a cab they'll be robbed waiting for the cab.

The "Lilliput" cab was most likely stolen, even if it was a Negril cab locals or visitors would not necessarily be safe knowing where the cab is from.

How many incidents would you say have occurred on the entire island in the past year out of the 3 millions of visitors to Jamaica?

[Rob]

How many incidents would you say have occurred on the entire island in the past year out of the 3 millions of visitors to Jamaica?

Once you answer my question on what % of tourists would read, know and understand never to get into that Lilliput route taxi in Negril with an actual number instead of some vague reference to Washington DC, then I will answer your question.

And by the way, it was 2 million visitors in one year for the first time last year. Not 3 million.... (grin)

[Blake]

Once you answer my question on what % of tourists would read, know and understand never to get into that Lilliput route taxi in Negril with an actual number instead of some vague reference to Washington DC, then I will answer your question.

And by the way, it was 2 million visitors in one year for the first time last year. Not 3 million.... (grin)

I would say about the same percentage of people visiting the DC area region that are familiar with the taxi cab system, zones,bus systems, or whatever mode of transportation they choose to use.

If you need a flat answer, probably 0% because it's irrelevant, the Lilliput route taxi could have been a stolen taxi, it could have been a stolen red plate taxi, it shouldn't make a difference what the plates of the route taxi say. If they're not being regulated enough to provide SAFE transportation for visitors yet they're safe for locals, then something needs to be done.

Sorry but if the only safe transportation you're advocating is private taxis in negril, then tourism is going to suffer considerably.

I for one view isolated incidents as being isolated incidents, if it's as big of a problem as you're making it out to be then there needs to be considerable changes.

[Rob]

If you need a flat answer, probably 0% because it's irrelevant, the Lilliput route taxi could have been a stolen taxi, it could have been a stolen red plate taxi, it shouldn't make a difference what the plates of the route taxi say. If they're not being regulated enough to provide SAFE transportation for visitors yet they're safe for locals, then something needs to be done.

Sorry but if the only safe transportation you're advocating is private taxis in negril, then tourism is going to suffer considerably.

I for one view isolated incidents as being isolated incidents, if it's as big of a problem as you're making it out to be then there needs to be considerable changes.

The Zero % is exactly why I cannot in good faith recommend a route taxi when pretty much 100% of Jamaicans would know not to get in that taxi. The problem is not the system, it was designed for the local populace and the local populace know how to use it. Visitors to the island, we both agree, do not.

I am suggesting that visitors to Jamaica use the transportation system designed specifically with them in mind. It is really that simple. And as Hussyband has pointed out (as well as others), the private charter taxis are not that much more expensive or that much more inconvenient.

And islandwide I do not know the exact number as I am not the keeper of these statistics but have already related the several incidents that I know about to you in a previous post. And that number is enough to make me make this recommendation and to no longer recommend that visitors use the route taxis system since we both acknowledge they have not enough experience with.

[T&A]

Sorry but if the only safe transportation you're advocating is private taxis in negril, then tourism is going to suffer considerably.

Yeah...I don't think that will be the case. I do a lot of walking when in JA
Pretty sure if I couldn't use the Route Taxi I would still go to Jamaica, too much fun to be had.
Yes, I have used both forms of transportation.

[Accompong]

If you need a flat answer, probably 0% because it's irrelevant, the Lilliput route taxi could have been a stolen taxi, it could have been a stolen red plate taxi, it shouldn't make a difference what the plates of the route taxi say. If they're not being regulated enough to provide SAFE transportation for visitors yet they're safe for locals, then something needs to be done.

Sorry but if the only safe transportation you're advocating is private taxis in negril, then tourism is going to suffer considerably.

I for one view isolated incidents as being isolated incidents, if it's as big of a problem as you're making it out to be then there needs to be considerable changes.

"probably 0% because it's irrelevant"? Why is that not relevant? First of all the plates of a route taxi don't say Lilliput the route designation on the side of the vehicle (and sometimes elsewhere) say "To and From locations and Via if a larger town or stop is located somewhere between" as the plates are just Red in Color with numbers. You can have a vehicle that says Lilliput on the side that is no longer a Red Plate because the vehicle was sold to a private party that uses it as a private "White Plate" vehicle.

A local person who was taking a Route Taxi first looks for a Red Plate and probably assumes that if it is a Red Plate then it should be going on that designated route and then check to see if the to and from destinations encompass where they pick it up at. If a Red Plate pulled up and to a local on Norman Manley Blvd and it said Lilliput on the side, they probably wouldn't enter the vehicle. I think that is what Rob means and, yes that is relevant to the discussion.

I don't think anyone would argue that there needs to be considerable changes if tourists want to use this system on a regular basis. It was designed for local use and works quite well in most areas of Jamaica. If you are outside the "tourist areas" you rarely see a tourist riding in a Route Taxi anyways.

When a criminal wants to perpetrate a crime on a tourist they obviously would want to take a rural (Lilliput) taxi into a tourist area like Negril to do so. Kind of like a duck hunter wouldn't go to the desert to hunt ducks would they? Of course not. They would go to the lakes where the ducks are.

Peace and Guidance