I love route taxis

[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