MONTEGO BAY, St James — A 15-member group of taxi associations that largely serve the western end of the country has decided to delay the approved 16 per cent hike in fares until the minimum wage goes up in July.

“We waited three years, so another 29 days [is] neither here nor there,” director for National Council of Taxi Associations (NCOTA) and president of the St James Taxi Association Dion Chance told the Jamaica Observer Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz announced that fares had been hiked by eight per cent, effective that day, and there would be a similar increase July 1. The staggered increase, the minister said, would minimise the inflationary impact on the economy. The 16 per cent hike was the balance of a 35 per cent increase approved in October 2023. At the time, cabbies accepted a partial increase of 19 per cent as the Government steadied the economy in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2024’s Hurricane Beryl. But with punishing gas prices as a result of tensions in the Middle East, transport operators have recently been agitating for the balance of the increase to take effect.