To: The Government of Jamaica, Ministry of Transport and Mining, and the Transport Authority

We, the undersigned citizens and licensed transportation operators, call upon the Government of Jamaica to urgently investigate the legal and regulatory status of Uber and all other rideshare companies operating across Jamaica.

These rideshare companies continue to expand throughout the country while many of their drivers appear to operate without meeting the same requirements imposed on route taxi operators and members of established transportation associations, including JUTA, JCAL and MAXI.

Licensed public-passenger vehicle operators are required to invest significant time and money to satisfy several legal, regulatory and safety requirements, including:

A valid Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC)
Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) certification
A Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) licence
A Public Passenger Vehicle (PPV) driver’s licence
Membership in a registered transportation association, where applicable
PPV and public-liability insurance that provides appropriate passenger coverage
Transport Authority inspection
A Transport Authority badge and road licence
A red PPV licence plate
It is fundamentally unfair for licensed operators to meet these extensive requirements while individuals may reportedly join an app and begin transporting paying passengers without being held to equivalent licensing, inspection, insurance and accountability standards.

This creates an uneven playing field. Rideshare drivers can offer lower fares partly because they may not bear the same compliance costs as licensed operators. This threatens the livelihoods of lawful transportation providers who have invested heavily to meet Jamaica’s requirements.

More importantly, this raises serious passenger-safety and insurance concerns. Jamaica should not wait until a resident or visitor is seriously injured in an accident before determining whether all drivers transporting passengers for payment are properly licensed, inspected and insured.

We therefore call upon the Government of Jamaica to: Conduct an immediate investigation into the operations of Uber and all other rideshare companies in Jamaica.

Publicly clarify the laws and regulations governing rideshare companies and their drivers.

Determine whether rideshare drivers are meeting the licensing, insurance, inspection and safety requirements applicable to other public-passenger operators.

Suspend the operations of any company or driver found to be operating outside Jamaica’s laws and regulations until full compliance is achieved.

Establish and consistently enforce one fair regulatory standard for everyone transporting passengers for payment.

Protect the livelihoods of compliant route taxi operators and JUTA, JCAL and MAXI members who have followed the established requirements.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fairness, accountability and equal enforcement of Jamaica’s transportation laws.

Same service. Same rules. Same standards.

We respectfully urge the Government of Jamaica and the Transport Authority to act now.