The above photos show the difference in traffic on
Highway 2000 (left) and Mandela Highway yesterday as motorists appeared
to choose the cheaper alternative, avoiding paying the increase in toll
prices. - photos by Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Jamaican
Infrastructure Operators Limited (JIO), managers of Highway 2000, is
claiming the recent hike in toll prices has not affected the flow of
traffic for any of the three legs of the motorway.

Desmond Levy, operations manager at JIO, told The Gleaner
yesterday that the company has been monitoring the situation since
Friday evening and, since then, he has noticed no adverse effects on
usage by motorists.

"The possibility of an increase was already in the public domain, so people knew that the tolls would go up," he said.

According
to Levy, the only visible change in traffic on the highway could be
attributed to the summer break, as many parents were no longer taking
their children to school.

Started on saturday

Cabinet last month approved a 16.6-66 per cent increase for toll rates, which went into effect on Saturday.

Contrary to Levy's reports, The Gleaner observed several massive traffic pile-ups on Monday morning, resulting from motorists avoiding the toll roads out of protest.

There
was bumper-to-bumper traffic until 10 a.m. along sections of the
Spanish Town bypass, Mandela Highway, and sections of Old Harbour Road,
which had police personnel working overtime.

Subofficer
in charge of traffic for St Catherine north, Sergeant Osbourne Searon,
yesterday described the situation as "incredible".

"It was traffic at its worst. While we observed the massive pile-up on other roads, there were very few motor vehicles using the toll road," he said.