President and CEO of the newly formed National Transporters Alliance Group Limited, Ludlow Mclean, is hailing the formation of this cooperative style representation body as game changing for the Public Transportation sector.
The organisation he said was formed to better represent the interest and welfare of Route and Hackney taxi operators islandwide offering rides and last mile delivery services, and courier bikers, all operating through App based technologies.
According to Mclean, the membership driven National Transporters Alliance Group is seeking to be that singular National Council and representation body that speaks and represent all these Transporters and related stakeholders in the Public Transportation sector.
A technology driven and cashless operation is what will separate the National Transporters Alliance Group from other associations currently operating. Members he said will include license holders incorporating all classes of road licenses, Rural Stage Carriages/Urban Stage Carriages/ Route Taxis/ Express Carriages/ Hackney / Contract Carriages & Commercial Carriage (green plates) operating via Smartphones with Driver Applications.
As a non-governmental, non-profit organization it seeks to bring together all the individual Transport Authority recognized and duly registered drivers in a singular voice, remarked McLean.
Among its many goals the National Transporters Alliance Group is seeking
- To provide a platform that will facilitate collaborations between public private partnership for effective development of the sector.
- To strengthen the foundation for an improved transportation system.
Ludlow Mclean is no stranger to the public transportation sector having operated in the sector for over 20 years, and is bringing his years of observation and understanding of what is required to truly transform the sector once and for all.
To ensure that there is adequate representation and equity, McLean outlined that there will be Parish Delegates in each parish. Each parish will each year elect their fourteen Parish Delegates from among the members living and working in that parish.
The Parish Delegate is the local level at which all transporters, operators and stakeholders have the opportunity to participate in policy formation and programmes of the association at the local level feeding into the National Transporters Alliance Group Council.
The Parish Delegate will be responsible for convening a parish meeting each month before the holding of the National Transporters Alliance Group Council monthly meeting.
The National Transporters Alliance Group Council comprises the 14 Parish Delegates, The National Transporters Alliance Group President and CEO, and two representatives each from partner groups. This Council will meet once per month with a rotating Chairman nominated from the Parish Delegates and partner groups.
The National Transporters Alliance Group will be administered by a full time President and CEO and professional support administration staff.
The National Transporters Alliance Group will initially be chaired by Aldo Antonio, executive chairman of RedPlate Technologies Jamaica Limited, who worked with Mclean the set up the Group.
Collaboration with RedPlate Technologies Formed
Mclean has also announced that the National Transporters Alliance Group and RedPlate Technologies Jamaica Limited have come together to explore and establish common ground and blaze new trails towards a better and more sustained future for RedPlate app-based Transporters.
Through this collaboration, both companies will be prioritizing what Transporters, for both rides and delivery say they want: enhancing their flexibility to work if, when, and where they want with a stronger voice, new benefits and protections.
Currently drivers and couriers are considered to be independent contractors because they can choose when, where and how often they work, but in exchange, they have no job security, vacation pay or other benefits such as health insurance for themselves and family members.
This collaboration between the National Transporters Alliance Group and RedPlate Technologies Jamaica will seek to address these and other pressing concerns allowing for better compensation, with members now been entitled to minimum wage, vacation pay and other protections, giving them more rights.
What makes the National Transporters Alliance Group unique, is the fact that it is a co-operative in its structure and operation, with one person one vote as an organisational structure. The National Transporters Alliance Group is not driven by profits…but driven to improve the financial condition of the members who join from right across Jamaica remarked McLean