The Government is once again mobilising plans for the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre to become a hub for private operators of public passenger vehicles (PPV).

The Half-Way Tree Transport Centre is currently predominantly used by Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses, with the exception of a small number of Coaster buses on specific route. Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz said discussions are currently taking place to expand the use of the transport centre located in the middle of the St Andrew capital, in a bid to ease the congestion caused by the swell of PPV operators along the streets.

The overflow of PPV operators in St Andrew is a direct result of the lack adequate facilities for them to park. The expanding build-up of PPV operators has led to a worsening of the traffic congestion in Half-Way Tree.

During a tour of the transport facility on August 3, Vaz said the issue is concerning and discussions are taking place to determine the feasibility of allowing operators to use the space.

Currently, there are a few Toyota Coaster buses that terminate in the centre, an operation that JUTC Managing Director Paul Abrahams said is running smoothly.

“They weren’t charged to park in there, which is, I think, a kind of an incentive for them to voluntarily move in there. But from the feedback we’re getting, it’s working well, and we could possibly ask some more of the bus operators to utilise the space that is there,” said Abrahams.

Chairman of the Transport Authority Owen Ellington disclosed that the Government is also considering to relocate taxi operators to the transport centre and other surrounding areas.

“What we’re looking at is the of relocating some of these taxis into the transport centre because we have excess capacity here, and in the case of the hackney carriage, we have found parking space on South Odeon Avenue, which we could give to them to use,” Ellington said.

Further discussions are to be held with the taxi associations, traffic engineers, and other stakeholders before a full transition is announced and implemented.