John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
AS OF next week, the cash-strapped state-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), with the assistance of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), will be clamping down on passengers who refuse to pay correct fares.
Members of the ISCF will, in fact, be boarding the buses to ensure compliance.
Gwyneth Harold, public relations manager at the JUTC, told The Gleaner yesterday that the new initiative is part of the bus company's revenue protection programme, which is geared towards recovering revenue currently being lost.
"There is a higher than acceptable rate of commuters who either do not pay their fares or do not pay the correct fare and the company has found that is is losing revenue because of this," she said.
The JUTC, which has been operating at a loss since it began operating in 1999, is said to be losing in excess of $5.5 million per month in revenue as a result of this practice.
PASSENGERS MUST COMPLY
Under the new initiative, which will start on May 16, personnel from the ISCF will be boarding buses along routes plied by the JUTC, to ensure that passengers comply. While there have been no reports of bus crews being injured as a result of passengers refusing to pay, Ms. Harold said, "There have been instances where they are being threatened by members of the public when they ask for the correct fares."
It is said that the problem of passengers refusing to pay correct fares was more prevalent on multizonal routes where passengers would sometimes pay only the fare for travelling one zone when they are in fact travelling two zones, for example, Portmore to Kingston.
"So, instead of just revenue protectors (officers) boarding the buses and asking to see your tickets, you will have two members of the ISCF boarding the buses to make sure that if they do encounter commuters who are not willing to pay their fares, then the police can escort them off the bus and let the law take its course," Ms. Harold explained.
In the meantime, the JUTC is advising commuters to ensure that they get a ticket from the conductor and check that it has the correct fare and destination printed on it to avoid any confusion.
