JUTC buses parked in Kingston. (Observer file photo)

THE Swiss consultants who recently conducted an audit into the operations of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, have recommended a 90 per cent increase in bus fares, as one of the measures to help move the ailing company into a position of profitability.

According to the consultants, $200 million can be raised in the first six months from its recommended 90 per cent increase.

Commuters travelling on JUTC buses at present pay $20 within zones and $30 outside -- like the ride from downtown Kingston to Portmore or Spanish Town.

The state-run bus company loses approximately $4 million monthly from both illegal operators who ply the bus routes and operating inefficiencies.

However, the consultant's recommendation for a fare increase has already been rejected by the National Workers Union (NWU) and the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), two of the unions that represent workers at the bus company.

"We cannot, every time an institution runs into difficulty, run to the public asking for more money without knowing if the money will be managed properly. We have to see that we are providing a service that they are willing to pay for and feel comfortable with," said Clifton Grant, vice-president of the UAWU, which represents the majority of the JUTC workers.

Grant had the support of NWU vice-president, Danny Roberts, whose union represents clerical and supervisory workers at the JUTC.

"Any attempt at bringing the company into profitability cannot be by just cutting cost or increasing bus fares. It is not comprehensive or holistic and does not deal with efficiency, it is simply cost cutting and will eke more revenue from the overburdened taxpayer," Roberts told the Observer last night.

Both unions argue that the audit report fails to discuss fundamental issues of efficiency, and have rejected plans to cut staff as one of the cost-saving measures.

"The report is divided in two segments; step one, reduction of staff and step 2, relates to how the company can generate revenue required to keep the it going. The report does not address efficiency only staff-cutting from top to bottom, but not whether those that are left are the best the fit the job description," said Grant. He added that today he should receive a list of the number of his unionised workers that the JUTC has recommended be cut from the payroll.

Roberts said that the NWU had already received a list with 64 names, which he charged was developed on the basis of favourism, political viticimisation and malaise.

Two senior JUTC vice-presidents recently left the company as part of the reorganisation.

John Campbell, the vice-president of engineering resigned, while Alton Fletcher, who acted as head of human resources, went back to his substantive job in the transport ministry.

A study, completed last summer by the consulting firm KPMG, found that between its formation in July 1998 and February last year, the JUTC lost $2.63 billion and that it had a negative net worth of $1.3 billion. The company was "technically insolvent", the report found.

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