A fare increase once again on the table for taxi and bus operators who are growing frustrated at the government’s failure to address their woes. Many were anticipating that the Transport and Mining Minister Robert Montague would have spoken on the issue during his sectoral presentation in Parliament on June 2.
However, when he addressed issues in the transportation division, he spoke about the railway system, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), and even the Airports Authority of Jamaica but did not mention anything about a fare increase.
“There are many challenges, yes, but we are well on the way. The Ministry of Transport and Mining remains committed to being the driving force behind a sustainable and reliable transportation system,” said Robert Montague, Minister of Transport and Mining.
Taxi and bus associations believe they have given the Transport Ministry ample time – and now they must take action.
We are saying enough is enough. We want a fare increase now and he must say something by Sunday night and if not Monday morning we are not working,” said President of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services, Egerton Newman. ” When we do a survey among ourselves we found that eighty-five percent of operators were only making ten percent of what they are supposed to make. A man who used to make twenty-five thousand dollars a day is now making four thousand dollars.”
Newman who was speaking at a news conference on Monday says the last meeting with the Transport Minister, Robert Montague was a year ago. Reports are that a fare increase was on the agenda but was not discussed.
“When we spoke to him about it, he said he is going to send it to the University of the West Indies- why would you want to send a fare increase request to the University of West Indies for research?” questioned Newman. ” He lied to us and we are saying say something now or we can’t go to work.”
Taxi and bus operators say as operational costs, vehicle parts, and insurance increases, they are left to struggle. While they appreciate that companies are dealing with the fallout from the COVID-19 crisis they are hoping that the government will address their concerns. They have been calling for an increase for years.
