Jamaican Gasoline Prices and Transportation Future - Solaris

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.

Shakespeare, Hamlet, III, 1

People in Milk River, Clarendon often castigate me while I travel on the taxi to May Pen, Clarendon to go about my lawful business. Usually it is about the fact that I have a 2005 Nissan Sunny parked in my driveway, which I purchased after leaving Telecom Provider CLARO as a RF Technician.

This after a year’s worth of working between 2008 to December 2009, when I was laid off. This should give you an idea of how HEAVILY I was saving money, often resorting on days to drink nothing more than bag juice and eat food at home! Trust me folks, it is not easy; Technicians and Engineers have heavy spending ways, and you have to be strong, otherwise you will eat yourself out of house and home.

Typically most of us still live in rented apartments or houses, with the rare exception of the married males being cajoled by their female counterparts to build a house and start a family. This was my intention with Audia Granston, who was terminally ill with Cervical Cancer before she died in 2010 AD.

I must say I did not get the pleasure of having her chauffeur driven in my car muchless making out (more up her street!) as when she was ill, I had planed to take her to the Milk River Mineral Spa to enjoy herself, as the Spa’s healing powers is revered by most Seventh Day Adventists as a Place of Healing.

Well after looking at the article “Ex-refinery gas prices eclipse JA$100 per litre”, published Friday, April 08, 2011, The Jamaica Observer, I am going to need to visit the Milk River Mineral Spa myself. JA$100 and up for gasoline be it 87 or 90 Octane with Diesel being more expensive?

Even Public Transportation should not have to suffer this indignity of having their Fuel higher than Gasoline, as they have the largest user base and thus should be able to access Diesel at lower prices!

However, the long term solution to insulate Jamaica from these Oil Price shocks, which are situations out of our control is making All-Electric Vehicles and Flex-Fuel Vehicles that are within the four-year limit available to Jamaicans Import Duty and Tax free.

An exchange program to encourage Trade-Up to these more Fuel efficient Fuel sippers as suggested in my blog article entitled “Alternative Energy and Jamaican Policies on Vehicle Importation - Gattaca”.

Flex-Fuel vehicles by the way would include vehicles being converted to run on the much touted LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) as stated in my blog article entitled “JUTC, Challenger and LNG - Journey to the Center of the Earth”.

This is a conversion procedure that motorists and the Government of Jamaica can achievable with assistance from Challenger Transport Company Ltd (926-6414) as stated in my blog article entitled “LPG and the Challenger Transport Co. Ltd.  - A Cheaper Fuel” and the supporting article in The Jamaica Observer entitled “Challenger Transport pioneers Auto LPG”, published Friday, March 05, 2010 by Patrick Foster, The Jamaica Observer.

There is from a purely logical standpoint, despite my grumbling, no need to lower the gas prices by removing taxes necessary to run our still fragile and recovering economy. We just need to, for the short term, change our driving habits, carpool and maintain the vehicle a lot better shape than we currently do.

This according to CEO of JETCON Corporation, Mr. Andrew "Action" Jackson, a former President of the JUCDA (Jamaica Used Car Dealer Association) in the article published in the The Jamaica Observer entitled “Leave the Tax on gasoline”, published Friday, April 08, 2011 by Andrew Jackson, The Jamaica Observer.

His article presents points such as a PR campaign encouraging more conservative driving habits, fixing the roads as the JDIP (Jamaica Development Infrastructure Program) promises and reducing the import duties on cars below the age of four (4) years. All which I am in agreement, with the exception of lowering the restrictions on the age limit for the importation of Vehicles older than four (4) years into the island.

That must be definitely avoided, as these Otto-cycle vehicles are now being thrown away by our Earthquake ravaged Japanese counterparts as noted in my blog article entitled “Alternative energy and Range Extender Technology - Jamaica To Rhaatid” in exchange for this Lithium-Ion Battery powered future.

Range Extender Technology vehicles should ease the qualms of many a Jamaica worried about driving about the commercialized equivalent of a golf cart that many fear may leave then stranded. It also satisfies the Diesel and Gasoline Retailers, as the Range Extender Technology still uses Gasoline, albeit a lot less.

They would also be a hit with the Young and the Restless crowd once the roads are fixed as well a la JDIP or the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) Campaign Kitty as we Milk River people refer to it as slyly suggested in my blog article entitled “Bruce Golding and the JDIP - 2 Fast 2 Furious”.

Especially as the roads are now the Milk River Roads are slated to be fixed, as per the sign placed on the roadside beside the Milk River (JCL012) Cell Site for Telecom Provider CLARO some weeks ago in March 2011.

Also, my initial suspicion that it was the approach of the constitutionally due elections is only part of the story as the reason behind the signs also now appearing on Gravel Hill Roads as stated in my blog article entitled “Gmail Motion is SLOOW & other April Fool's Jokes - Armstrong's FireFly”.

JLP Campaign money, I had surmised.

Apparently this is not the full story, as with the coming of the Chinese Delegation to see the progress on the works as stated in the article “JDIP said on time, on budget ahead of Chinese Investors Visit”, published Monday, April 11, 2011 by Donna Hussey-Whyte, The Jamaica Observer.

So now with this knowledge in hand would not now be a great time for the Government of Jamaica to implement these measures? After all, this conflict in Libya may last till the end of the year and yet another threatens to break out in other part of the Middle East.

Net Metering and Nuclear Power as suggested by Senator Phillip Paulwell look that much more appealing as stated in my blog article entitled “Nuclear Power and Net Metering – Paulwell’s Energy Sector Liberalization Chess Game”.

Especially if it would mean that it would make driving an All-Electric Vehicle, Flex-Fuel Vehicles cheaper than operating a Gasoline powered one and Public transport affordable to the mass, Solaris (2002) Style!!

After all, our American cousins are already ahead of the curve as stated in my Geezam article entitled “The American Race towards Alternative Energy”.