Uber has been taking rides in Jamaica since June 2021. More than five years on, it still has no Transport Authority licence, drivers using it with private cars have had their vehicles seized, the government once ordered the apps blocked, and nobody outside Uber knows exactly how much of each Jamaican fare it keeps. This case study sets out what has happened, drawn entirely from published reporting and official statements, and what it means for licensed taxi, tour and charter operators deciding how to take bookings by phone.
The short version
- No licence. The Transport Authority said in 2021 that it had not given Uber permission to operate, and in October 2026 its managing director said he “wouldn’t say” Uber and inDrive have a licence to function here (Observer, 16 Jun 2021; Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026).
- The risk lands on drivers. Anyone carrying paying passengers needs a PPV road licence and PPV insurance, whatever app they use. The TA seized 273 vehicles in three months in 2025 (Gleaner, 7 Jul 2025).
- The platform can be switched off. In June 2024 the government told a telecoms provider to restrict access to ride-hailing apps for 12 months (Gleaner, 5 Jun 2024).
- The cut is not published. Uber has not published a commission rate for Jamaica. Globally, its ride-hailing revenue is about 30% of what riders pay (Uber Technologies, 2025 Form 10-K).
- Riders still want apps. The Fair Trading Commission found the ban did not work because demand stayed strong (Observer, 17 Dec 2025). The opportunity is real. The question is who owns it.
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Mar 2021 | Uber emails potential drivers in Kingston ahead of launch (Gleaner, 31 Mar 2021). |
| 15 Jun 2021 | Uber launches in Kingston under a “vehicle-with-driver” lease model, which it says is legally permissible (Observer, 15 Jun 2021). |
| 16 Jun 2021 | The Transport Authority says it has given Uber no permission and that public passenger transport needs a road licence “irrespective of the terminology used” (Observer, 16 Jun 2021). |
| Jan–Feb 2024 | Uber announces Montego Bay and the north coast, including an “Uber Taxi” arrangement with the Montego Bay Maxi Taxi Association. The TA says there is no agreement in place (Observer, 30 Jan 2024; Observer, 11 Feb 2024). |
| Jun 2024 | The government orders access to ride-hailing apps restricted for 12 months, naming Uber, inDrive, 876OnTheGo, Lyft and Ride Jamaica (Gleaner, 5 Jun 2024). |
| Jul 2025 | The TA reports 273 vehicles seized in three months for operating illegally as taxis through Uber and inDrive (Gleaner, 7 Jul 2025). |
| Dec 2025 | The Fair Trading Commission says the ban proved ineffective and recommends regulation instead (Observer, 17 Dec 2025). |
| May 2026 | Cabinet approves work on a national ride-hailing policy (Observer, 6 May 2026). |
| Oct 2026 | Regulations are still being drafted. JUTA calls for a Jamaican-owned platform (Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026). |
1. Five years without a licence
Jamaican law is clear on one point the authorities have repeated since 2021: if you carry passengers for hire, you need a public passenger vehicle (PPV) road licence and PPV insurance. Calling the ride a “lease” or booking it through an app does not change that (Observer, 16 Jun 2021; Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026).
Uber’s model relies on drivers supplying their own cars. Where those drivers are already licensed operators, that is one thing. Where they are private-plate cars, the legal exposure sits with the driver, not with the app. In July 2025 the Transport Authority said it had seized 273 vehicles in three months, told commuters to look for red plates and to report white-plate cars arriving for app bookings, and warned of fines of up to $100,000 or two months in prison (Gleaner, 7 Jul 2025). Drivers have described being caught by covert bookings and say they are afraid to accept jobs (Observer, 11 Aug 2025).
What it means for operators: a booking app does not make a trip legal. Your licences, plates and insurance do. A platform that recruits drivers without them is building its business on your industry’s risk.
2. A business you can’t control can be switched off
In June 2024, after police raised concerns about crimes linked to people hired through ride-hailing apps, the Minister of Transport ordered access to the apps restricted for 12 months or until a regulatory regime was in place (Gleaner, 5 Jun 2024; Gleaner, 5 Jun 2024). The ban did not stop the apps being used, and the Fair Trading Commission later judged it ineffective (Observer, 17 Dec 2025). But it showed something every operator should take seriously: if your bookings depend on someone else’s platform, a single policy decision about that platform can cut you off from your customers overnight.
Policy is still moving. Cabinet approved work on a national ride-hailing policy in May 2026, and in October 2026 the TA said regulations were still being drafted (Observer, 6 May 2026; Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026). Nobody can yet say what the final rules for global platforms will look like.
What it means for operators: an app published under your own licensed company, carrying your own licensed drivers, is not a ride-hailing platform recruiting the public. It is your existing taxi business with a better way to book.
3. Nobody knows the Jamaican cut
Uber has not published what it takes from Jamaican fares. A 2021 report described a 25% service fee, without attributing the figure to Uber (Observer, 15 Jun 2021). Uber’s own annual report gives a global picture: in 2025 its ride-hailing (Mobility) revenue was about $29.7 billion on about $97.5 billion of gross bookings, or roughly 30% of what riders paid, though that figure mixes markets where Uber accounts for revenue differently (Uber Technologies, 2025 Form 10-K). For comparison, inDrive was reported to take 5–10% in Jamaica (Gleaner, 28 May 2023).
JUTA, the tourism transport operators’ union, has called for a law requiring platforms to disclose how each fare is split between the platform and the driver (Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026).
What it means for operators: you should know, to the dollar, what your booking technology costs. With Conduence the figure is fixed and published: 5% of each completed app booking, and your company keeps 95%. See pricing.
4. The rider belongs to the platform, not to you
When a visitor books through a global app, the account, the trip history, the rating and the next booking all sit with that platform. The rider who loved your driver gets whichever car is nearest next time. Uber’s 2024 north coast push was explicitly aimed at the overseas visitors who already had its app on their phones: it said more than 21,000 people had tried to use it in Montego Bay since 2021 (Observer, 30 Jan 2024).
The Montego Bay Maxi Taxi Association tried Uber for exactly that reason, access to overseas customers, but the arrangement was described as a pilot and the TA said there was no agreement in place (Observer, 11 Feb 2024).
What it means for operators: the visitors will keep arriving with phones. If they book your app for their airport transfer, your company is on their phone for every trip that week, and the next visit. We cover this in Own Your Riders.
5. Riders are telling us what they want
It would be wrong to pretend riders don’t like these apps. The Fair Trading Commission found that platforms cut passengers’ search and waiting costs, and that demand stayed strong even during the ban (Observer, 17 Dec 2025). Public complaints about unclear and inconsistent taxi fares are well documented (Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026). Uber also points to safety tools such as trip sharing, PIN codes and ride check-ins (Observer, 30 Jan 2024).
None of that requires a global platform. Upfront fares, live tracking, trip sharing, driver details and receipts can all come from an app with your own company’s name on it, running your own licensed drivers. That is the gap JUTA is pointing at when it calls for a Jamaican-owned dispatch platform so fare revenue stays local (Gleaner, 4 Oct 2026).
To be fair to Uber
- Uber says its lease model was legally permissible, and the Minister of Transport said in 2024 that Uber was the only overseas provider willing to work within the legal framework (Observer, 15 Jun 2021; Gleaner, 5 Jun 2024).
- The FTC recommends regulating ride-hailing rather than banning it, with commercial insurance, background checks and safety features for every trip (Observer, 17 Dec 2025).
- Some in the industry have described Uber as a “good disruptor” that could push taxi standards up (Gleaner, 16 Jun 2021).
- Internationally, how Uber treats drivers is contested. The UK Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that its drivers are workers entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay, and Uber lists driver classification as a major business risk (Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5; Uber Technologies, 2025 Form 10-K).
What licensed operators should do now
- Keep your licences, plates and insurance current. Whatever the final regulations say, licensed PPV operators are on the right side of them.
- Give riders the app experience they want, under your name. Upfront fares, live tracking, card and cash, receipts in your company’s name.
- Own the relationship. Make sure rider accounts, trip history and ratings belong to your company, not a platform.
- Know your costs. Choose booking technology with a published, fixed price, not a cut you can’t see.
- Win the visitor early. Airport transfers booked ahead in your own app turn a one-off visitor into a week of rides. See airport transfer booking.
Conduence gives licensed Jamaican and Caribbean taxi, tour and charter companies their own branded booking app, a driver app and a dispatch dashboard, with your own licensed drivers and your own fares. You keep 95% of every completed app booking. Get a free proposal.
This case study draws only on published news reports, official statements and company filings, linked throughout. The regulatory position is changing. Last checked 25 October 2026.