‘Temporary reduction in JUTC fares will have little effect’
Vanassa McKenzie / Our Today
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson says the temporary reduction in fares for persons who utilize the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) will have little effect in cushioning the impact of the recent fare hike on Jamaicans.
Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke announced in Parliament on Tuesday, November 21, the Government will temporarily reduce fares of JUTC passengers effective January 1, 2024.
This will see fares for regular passengers moving from $100 to $70, and for pensioners from $40 to $30.
Student fares will also move from $30 to $25.
There will be a further reduction in the regular fare from $70 to 50 as of April of next year.
Student fares will again move from $25 to $20, and pensioners from $40 to $30.
While welcoming the proposed fare reduction, Robinson said it will have little impact as the JUTC is operating at 40 per cent of its capacity, which forces individuals to utilise public passenger vehicles owned by private operators.
“The capacity of JUTC right now is at 40 per cent of what it should be and because it is 40 per cent of what it should be, the majority of the travelling public is forced to take the private passenger vehicles. So, while every JUTC customer will welcome this, the reality is that many wait two, three hours for a bus on a daily basis and because they have to get to work or school, they are forced to take a private passenger vehicle,” he argued.
Robinson further called for greater investment and better management to increase the overall capacity of JUTC.
“We have to move quickly, minister of finance, to deal with the operation of the JUTC. There is a need for more investment, there is a need for better management so that you can increase the capacity of JUTC so that we don’t have as many private passenger vehicles on the road and it creates a whole heap of problem, the indiscipline the congestion, etc.
People prefer the JUTC buses but they are just not enough to move the travelling public along the road and it has a negative impact on productivity. Again, I am happy the Government has headed the opposition call but in really, I am not seeing the great impact it will have given that there are so few JUTC buses on the road and many many persons are forced to use the private passenger vehicles,” he said.
Clarke said he anticipates that this temporary reduction will have a mitigating effect on the impact of the recent fare hike on the commuting public.
The Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSETT) recently announced a 19 per cent increase in bus and taxi fares, which took effect on October 15.
An additional 16 per cent increase is to take effect on April 1, 2024.
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