MONTEGO BAY, St James — Commuters in St James will today feel the full brunt of a 16 per cent fare hike that was approved last month. About 45 per cent of taxi operators in the parish had heeded a call from president of the St James Taxi Association Dion Chance to delay the full increase until July 1.

“I want to raise my hat to those who saw through what we were saying… It’s good to see that all is not lost in this wonderful country of ours, that we still have some people with conscience,” Chance, who is also director of the National Council of Taxi Associations (NCOTA), told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday.

On June 2 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. However Chance indicated, then, that the 15-association group he leads had agreed to introduce the full increase at the beginning of July, partly to minimise confusion and partly as a gesture of goodwill.