“The system was chaotic, indiscipline was foremost, and it was rampant,” he said. The age-old problems of body protrusion, loud music, and general indiscipline presented challenges from bus drivers, conductors, and commuters as well. But Francis weathered the storm at each level, and was eventually promoted from inspector to senior inspector, and then to chief inspector.

In 1996, the streets of Montego Bay were abuzz with a network of taxis and buses, most operating illegally. Into this chaotic situation stepped Francis, again promoted and transferred from the Transport Authority offices in Kingston to become Regional Manager in charge of the parishes of Hanover, Westmoreland, and St. James.

Given a mandate by then Managing Director, Norton Hinds, to take charge of this system, breathe new life into it, and bring some amount of order for the people of Jamaica’s second city; his analysis indicated that this would prove a mammoth task. With just over 100 legal operators to the over 3,000 illegal ones, legitimizing the system would be a major task. But achievement of his objective was a necessity and involved him conceptualizing initiates never tried in that area. From his effort sprung the idea of forming taxi associations, first in Hopewell, Hanover. The concept caught on like wild fire. These associations allowed for a central body with which the Transport Authority and other government bodies could communicate. They instituted marked taxis, designation signs and numbers, and monitoring of the system, resulting in an increase in the number of legal operators and upholding of the law. At the end of this assignment, Francis noted that, while there were still persons operating illegally, the numbers had fallen and some order had been brought to bear on the system.

He feels that his feeling of satisfaction in his job is partly due to the fact that he is a people person, and that he gains personal satisfaction from his interaction with the public and his co-workers. His style of management allows him to deal with the problems and differences of opinion as they arise, to address each situation and to get the job done.

While he admits that much more remains to be achieved, he feels that Jamaica’s public transportation system has vastly improved. Transportation in the rural areas still operates on individual ownership and provides some challenges, but Kingston has seen remarkable improvement since the introduction of the government’s controlled system. Despite pockets of indiscipline, he thinks the current system redounds to the benefit of the Jamaican public, offering them a choice, and opportunity to travel in comfort.

Neville Francis has come full circle, from Inspector to Operations Manager. He still spends a major part of his day on the road, but this time in a different capacity, overseeing the execution of programmes and plans geared to ever improve the face of public transportation in Jamaica.