Transportation in Caribbean
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JAMAICA, 2016/03/20
The Jamaica government is moving to revive its railway service and Minister of Transport and Mining Mike Henry says he’s exploring a public-private partnership.
The minister said that Jamaica, in adopting a modern day integrated multi-modal transport system, of which the railway is a key component, would be embracing the reality of the changing and fast-paced world.
“The railway is the majority significant element of transport anywhere in the world and Jamaica has the second oldest railway in the world, connecting each port in Jamaica. We exist in a just-in-time world where you need to deliver goods and services as early as possible, in order to be on top of the niche markets and be able to grow your economy,” he said in an interview with the Jamaica Data Service.
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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 2015/07/05
Legislation for a single authority to control roads and highways is advancing through parliament in Trinidad & Tobago as the government aims to make licence issuance additional transparent as well curb uninsured driving.
Finalisation of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Bill − initial drafted in 2014 – is progressing and its full approval is expected to be high on the schedule of the new parliament that will take office next the September 7th general election.
The bill tackles some significant issues for T&T, where a relatively high standard of living and the absence of a passenger rail service mean that private cars and commercial vehicles are the major form of land transport.
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AMERICAS, 2014/03/15
The regional airline, LIAT, says it will take “decisive action” to deal with unprofitable routes as the Antigua-based airline seeks to make its operations financially variable.
“We have been trying, before going the harsh route, to persuade people to invest. We have met with a number of governments and Prime Ministers... we have expressed to them that we will have no other option but to cut the service,” LIAT chairman Jean Holder told a news conference on Thursday evening.
“I think we have reached the point, after a lot of challenges, where we need to do as we say that we will do. That may after all be more effective than the persuasion route,” Holder said after a meeting of the shareholder governments.
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ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, 2014/02/08
In the initial month of 2014 Caribbean regional media reported that LIAT has had to choose between paying employee salaries and paying aircraft lease charges in order to maintain flight operations.
Even before the news of LIAT’s new financial crisis, the flight chaos of last summer was nearly repeated in December 2013, at the start of the Caribbean’s tourism high season, and was only averted through last minute decision changes by LIAT’s board of directors and its temporary CEO.
The LIAT fleet was reportedly due to reduce to only nine aircraft last December. At the same time, aircraft conversion training for flight deck crew was planned to be ongoing and flight deck crew annual vacations were scheduled to peak that month. With a similar mix of factors to those which caused LIAT’s summer meltdown, the potential for major disruption to flights appeared to be equally great for this winter.
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CENTRAL AMERICA, 2013/05/01
The rapid expansion of large Latin American companies is pushing up request for private airplanes and helicopters like at no time formerly. The reasons are simple - these companies want the speed, flexibility and autonomy that private air transport provides. The only problem: There are not enough pilots, America Economia reports.
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EUROPE, 2013/03/24
The International Federation of Air Transport Association (IATA) said that world airlines raised its estimate for 2013, with profits growing confidence in the world economy and the financial performance of the sector companies.
