By Vernon Daley, Staff ReporterSources at the ministry told The Gleaner last night that the minister and his technical staff had signed off on the new fares and would give the details at a press briefing this afternoon.
Efforts to contact Mr. Pickersgill up to press time last night were unsuccessful. However, proposals for an increase in bus fares have been in the making since earlier this year, when Swedish transport consultants recommended that the fares be increased by as much as 90 per cent to ensure the viability of the state-run Jamaica Urban Transit Co. Ltd. (JUTC).
Key sources in the Transport Ministry said the Minister decided against going 100 per cent with the consultants' recommendation because of the public backlash that would likely meet it.
"The political fallout would be great if the Minister were to have gone with the 90 per cent," a source said, highlighting the fact that school re-opens in a few weeks and children are among the main users of JUTC buses.
INCREASES
With a 50 per cent increase, the cost of riding the bus within the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew would move from $20 to $30 per stage while persons commuting between the Corporate Area and Spanish Town and the Portmore communities in St. Catherine, would see fares moving from $30 to 45.
Professor Trevor Munroe, who is also president of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), told The Gleaner last night that he was not aware of the proposal for a 50 per cent increase but argued that a fare hike was now long overdue.
SOONER, THE BETTER
Prof. Munroe, whose union represents most of JUTC workers, contended that a fare increase needed to be implemented quickly to ensure the survival of the company.
"The longer it is postponed, the more damaging it is for the long-term viability of the JUTC," he said.
In May, the Office of Utilities Regulation submitted recommendations to the ministry for a bus fare increase but made it clear then that the final decision would rest with Mr. Pickersgill.
The Swedish consultants were brought in earlier this year after a KPMG-Peat Marwick audit revealed that the four-year-old state-owned bus company was losing some $3 million daily and was teetering on the brink of financial collapse.
