By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN JAMAICA'S Montego Bay Metro Co. Ltd. is this week taking an inventory of its bus parts needs.
The assessment of the company's mechanical needs is being done for submission to the Ministry of Transport, as part of the requirements for getting financial assistance from the ministry. The price tag on repair costs could run into millions of dollars.
"Several of our buses are down because of mechanical problems, and owing to lack of financial resources, we are unable to remedy the situation," Anthony Copeland, managing director of Montego Bay Metro, told The Gleaner. "We need to let the ministry know how much it will take to put our buses back in good order, so we are putting those costs together over the next few days."
But Mr. Copeland declined to disclose the amount of the subvention being sought to enable the bus company to resume limited operations in Montego Bay from Tuesday.
UNSURE ABOUT MINISTRY'S INPUT
Sources close to the bus company told The Gleaner that Montego Bay Metro is indebted to its fuel suppliers to the tune of more than $1.3 million. However, the management of the company is tight-lipped on the matter.
"We cannot comment at this time on how much the Ministry will give us to help restart operations next week, or what is the extent of our fuel bills," Mr. Copeland said. "We are also not in a position to say how much the company will require to increase its strength on the roads." He says that when the feasibility study commissioned by the Transport Ministry on his company is complete, it will guide the ministry on how much money to pump into the bus company once it is restructured.
Montego Bay Metro, which has been operating at a loss of $2 million a month, closed its doors to the public on March 31, citing financial troubles.
On Monday, the company told The Gleaner that it would resume limited operations after the Easter holidays. When work resumes, 62 of the 80 employees at the company will lose their jobs.
