Wayne Henry’s endorsement of the idea of work-from-home and other flexible and staggered work schedules to save fuel intuitively, and on the basis of past evidence, makes sense.

What Dr Henry and the agency he leads, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), must now do is support the proposal with publicly available analytic data and centre concept in a broader public transportation policy.

At the same time the PIOJ should also publicly share its analysis of the likely effect on commuting on the government’s decision to raise the weekly price cap -  by 178 per cent - on the price of diesel, rather than apply the mechanism to all categories of automotive fuels.  This policy, on its face, will primarily affect, or have its greatest impact on the drivers of large, diesel-powered sports utility vehicles, which are favoured by government ministers, and goods haulage public transportation.