Jamaica Gas Prices

If last week’s Monday morning traffic was bad, this week’s Monday morning traffic was worse.  It now appears that school is back out in full and the busy roads are showing it.

What was clear was how impatient the motorists were.  The horns were blaring and people were sharp to remind others that the  red stoplight was about to turn green.  It is amazing how sharp Jamaican Motorists can be when they are ready.

Much of the traffic buildup occurs around schools. It would be interesting if National Works Agency could look into this and see how this could be addressed.  Many schools simply do not have adequate entrances or exits and the ripple effect is telling in on the traffic in city Kingston.

Garbage Collection at Peak Hour

What I can’t understand is why would the Jamaican Government have garbage trucks collecting garbage at peak hour. I saw this on Oxford Road in Kingston one day and was surprised. Maybe the garbage truck was running late. I was puzzled as it obviously made a bad situation worse.

Remember to give yourself 10 to 15 minutes of extra time do deal with potential mini-accidents, broken down vehicles and other little incidents that will most certainly cause the traffic to move a little slower

Save Gas

Now how is the motorist suppose to deal with this slow to stand-still traffic and is impact on the gas bill? To avoid burning a bigger hole in pocket, here are some simple options. Does anyone have some more?

• Leave earlier: 30 minutes to 1hour can make a world of a difference.
• Leave later, if you can: If the boss will allow
• Take the bus: Premium fares are down but regular fares are do to go up.
• Get a Motor Cycle: When it rains you get wet.
• Arrange to work at home : Telecommuting welcome to the 21st Century
• Car Pool: Old idea has issues
• Do I hear Flexi-time again?

This has been an interesting week for motorists in Jamaica, but then again being a motorist in Jamaica is always interested.  On September 9, 2009, the Government of Jamaica announced a  6 month stimulus package for the auto industries in Jamaica. 

On the back on a 60% fall in sales, new and used car dealers apparently lobbied the government for some relief and alas got it. The government is strapped for cash so anything is better than zero and with fall-off in sales it meant less revenue for the government pockets.

The details 

For motor vehicles 1000-1600 cc, the SCT of 10% becomes 0%. The results it that the overall markup do to SCT and GCT will decline about 25% from 82% to 63%. 

Vehicles under 1000 cc already of 0% SCT while high-end vehicles will see SCT reduced from 70% to 35%. In between SCT for 1600 to 2000 cc moves from 20% to 5%, and for 2000cc to 3000cc vehicles the change is from 35% to 15% resulting in aggregate reduction in taxes from 110%  to 77% and 128% to 96%

As usual there are some interesting footnotes.  Those eligible for the 20% duty concession  can now import vehicles with any allowed cc rating as the previous restriction to this category has been removed. However the ceiling on the value of the vehicle of US$25,000 remains.

My thoughts are,  this should not be bad move but there are concerns. Will person exploit this to bring more gas guzzlers into the island? What about our Oil bill and our foreign exchange problem or do we have one?  

The Portmore and other Toll users are looking for a Stimulus Plan.

n.b. Gas Prices from the refinery went down this week.

Sources

• 6 months stimulus package for new & used car sector
• Government slashes car duties

A few days after PetroJam posted its response,  Gerald Cameron once again states the case ask revisit their information.

I am here to dispute that with facts. The reduction in our ex-refinery gasoline prices declined by an average of 37 per cent for unleaded 87 (from J$78.43 on July 17, 2008 to J$48.78 on January 7, 2009 (refer to Petrojam’s website). In Miami gasoline declined an average of 55 per cent (from US$4.13 on July 7, 2008 to US$1.87 on January 7, 2009 (refer to Gasbuddy.com ).

For the full letter: 
 http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090115/letters/letters2.html

Related:
Petrojam response to Pricing complaints

On the December 24, 2008, the Gleaner’s letter of the day raised concerns about PetroJam pricing policy. Today another writer join the call in his peice, writing to the editor. Here is a quote..

The present management of Petrojam is a hangover of the past government and has not changed its policies. The public needs a relief from high prices and Mullings should not forget that he can return from whence he came. The Government should realise that it is their inaction on important issues like gas prices why people are becoming so turned off from them.

You can read the rest of the article here…  http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20081229/letters/letters4.html

You can read the related post here
http://www.jamaicagasprices.com.jm/blog/2008/12/24/petrojam-pricing-policy-questioned/

Remember you can also follow this discussion in the forum.http://jamaicagasprices.com.jm/forum/index.php?topic=15.0

Again we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all  the best for the new year.