Minibus strike leaves students stranded on first day of school

Dozens of students from varied schools were left stranded in Buff Bay, Portland this morning, after taxi men and minibus operators protested for a designated route from Buff Bay to Port Antonio.

The disgruntled operators exclaimed that no designated route creates high levels of inconvenience for students, working-class persons, and other commuters.

“Five buses were rerouted by the transport authority, who claimed that they have the power to do anything,” said Floyd Thomas, an operator who acted as a spokesperson during the protest.  

According to Thomas, 39 buses were assigned to the route Port Antonio to Annotto Bay, and then to Ocho Rios via Buff Bay, but during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 30 of those buses were sold by the owners- leaving only 9 buses to cover the existing route.

“But that is only a stop-gap measure, those five buses are officially assigned to the route Port Antonio to Annotto Bay and Ocho Rios. We have applied to the Transport Authority to fill that void, but we are getting nowhere,” Thomas added.

The operators are only allowed the route Buff Bay to Skibo and Spring Garden, which currently creates a serious strain on the commuting public, who are oftentimes left stranded for several hours.

The protest threatens to inconvenience students, working-class persons, and other commuters for the rest of the week, as the operators have vowed to continue the protest if their request for the road license is not granted.

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