JUTA wants brakes pumped on Uber - Lawrence calls for locally operated alternatives to foreign-owned ride hailing companies

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Jamaica Union of Travellers Association (JUTA) is calling for Uber and other international ride-hailing/ride-sharing companies to be banned, arguing that they continue to operate outside Jamaica’s established transport framework.

Simon Lawrence, president of JUTA Montego Bay, says the country should instead develop a Jamaican-owned digital ride-hailing platform that delivers the convenience of Uber while keeping transport revenues in the local economy.

“No, Uber has to be banned,” Lawrence told The Sunday Gleaner, contending that the company does not meet the regulatory requirements governing local public passenger transport operators.

He claimed that Uber has already interfered with more than 45 per cent of the local ground transportation market, although he was unable to immediately quantify the financial losses suffered by traditional operators.

Lawrence argued that operators in Jamaica’s regulated transport sector are required to have Transport Authority road licences and comply with established requirements, while claiming that persons can sign up to the Uber platform without meeting the same standards.

“The regulatory body is known as the Transport Authority, and the Transport Authority has not given Uber authority to operate,” said Lawrence.

PPV regulation

However Transport Authority Managing Director Ralston Smith told The Sunday Gleaner that the Ministry of Transport is currently developing regulations to govern ride-hailing services in the island.

Smith said that, in the meantime, existing Jamaican law requires anyone providing transportation for hire or reward to hold the appropriate public passenger vehicle (PPV) road licence and PPV insurance.

“I wouldn’t say that Uber and inDrive have a licence to function here,” Smith said. “What they are required to do in the absence of that is to ensure that they are only enlisting licensed PPV [operators].”

He stressed that the requirement applies regardless of the digital platform through which a passenger books a journey.

“Anybody providing PPV services must have a licence,” Smith said.

He explained that Uber, inDrive or any other ride-hailing platform operating in Jamaica should therefore ensure that the drivers recruited to provide passenger services are licensed PPV operators.

Smith said the regulatory framework now being developed is intended to put the necessary guardrails in place for ride-hailing operations.

At the heart of JUTA’s latest objection, however, is not simply regulation. Lawrence contends that allowing foreign digital platforms to become dominant intermediaries between Jamaican passengers and Jamaican drivers could result in a significant portion of transport earnings leaving the country.

“I believe transportation should be left for the local people,” he said. “As it relates to the mechanism of collection or the mechanism of dispatching, that mechanism should be Jamaican and Jamaica-based, and the money should come to Jamaica.”

Lawrence said foreign ride-hailing companies operating locally should, at minimum, be required to establish Jamaican entities and retain an agreed portion of revenues generated here.

“Why are we inviting so many international businesses to dominate the local business? That is very dangerous,” he said. “I believe there should be a part of the pie left for the natives.”

JUTA is therefore advocating for the development of a locally controlled ride-hailing platform that would allow licensed Jamaican operators to compete technologically without surrendering the customer relationship and a portion of each fare to an overseas platform.

Lawrence’s proposal for a locally controlled ride-hailing platform is not without international precedent.

India has taken a similar approach with the launch of Bharat Taxi, a cooperative ride-hailing platform designed to give drivers greater ownership and control over their earnings.

According to India’s Ministry of Cooperation, the service operates on a zero-commission model, with profits intended to flow back to participating drivers. By March 2026, the ministry said approximately 431,000 driver-partners had been enrolled.

Asked whether JUTA itself was prepared to invest in such a system, Lawrence said the organisation was willing to participate and would welcome Government assistance.

“JUTA is always prepared to be the pioneer in transportation across the island,” he said, adding that the association would be grateful for support in developing the platform.

He disclosed that JUTA had previously launched a ride-sharing initiative at Half Moon hotel, although he did not immediately provide details on when it was introduced or what became of the project.

Lawrence rejected suggestions that traditional operators are incapable of delivering some of the technological conveniences that have helped ride-hailing platforms attract customers.

He said JUTA vehicles are GPS-tracked and drivers are identifiable, while those transporting visitors are required to meet Jamaica Tourist Board requirements.

He also said approximately 50 per cent of his drivers are equipped, or becoming equipped, to accept payments through point-of-sale machines.

JUTA, he said, would support legislation requiring ride-hailing companies to disclose exactly how fares are divided between the platform and drivers.

The association’s concern about fare distribution was highlighted in an earlier statement in which Lawrence cited the experience of a Jamaican traveller in Orlando, Florida, who reportedly paid US$51.94 for a 35-minute Uber journey while the driver received US$9.17.

Uber’s popularity has also raised uncomfortable questions for traditional taxi operators, particularly over complaints about inconsistent fares and passengers not always knowing the cost of a journey beforehand.

Asked whether the traditional transport sector had contributed to the demand for Uber, Lawrence said that criticism did not apply to JUTA.

“Not for JUTA, maybe for the others,” he said, insisting that JUTA’s fares are established before passengers enter its vehicles.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com