BUS fares could be increased as early as next week, following yesterday’s submission of the recommendations from the Office of the Utilities Regulation (OUR) to the transport ministry for an increase to be granted to rural stage carriage bus operators.

There will however, be no fare increase for Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), since no application was submitted by the state-owned bus company.

Transport Minister, Mike Henry, is expected to review the recommendations today at which time a decision is to be taken on just how much of an increase will be granted to the bus operators.

Communications manager in the Transport Ministry Reginald Allen, told the Observer that submission on the proposed increase is expected to go to Cabinet by next Monday.

“The minister along with a technical team from the ministry, will review the recommendation and decide on a submission to take to the Cabinet where the final decision will be taken and thereafter announced,” Allen explained. He added that the overall process is expected to be completed within two weeks.

While he was unable to say what percentage increase the OUR had recommended, Allen said it was not a significant difference to what was recommended for the route taxi operators whose increase came into effect on May 10.

The taxi operators had requested increases from 37 to 100 per cent, while the OUR recommended a 36.4 per cent hike. However, the transport minister granted 25 per cent.

Allen said the recommendation has also been submitted for an increase for hackney carriage operators and that a decision is to be made on that shortly as well.

Following the announcement of an increase for route taxis three weeks ago, there has been sporadic demonstrations among bus operators over uncertainty about the pending increased fares for their services.

Henry, who arrived in the island last night following an official overseas visit, noted that the formal application for a fare increase for the Rural Stage Carriage operators came in much later than the application from the route taxi operators, whose increase was announced a few weeks ago. Likewise, he said an application for the hackney carriage (chartered) taxi operators was still pending, based on the lateness of the submission.

Meanwhile, Henry expressed surprise that former transport minister, Peter Phillips, has been criticising the ministry for having announced the route taxi fare increase ahead of an increase for the bus operators.

According to Henry, Phillips had not bothered to check the facts, neither had he recognised that public transport operators now have to formally submit detailed applications in support of whatever rate increases they are seeking.

“Dr Phillips can tell you how he used to do it, but now there are systems and procedures in place to balance the interests of both the commuters and the transport operators. These we have to adhere to, and had all the applications come in on time as was required of the various public transport groupings, it would have allowed for simultaneous announcement of the increases,” said Henry.

Henry said the bus operators had only themselves and their representatives to blame for the delay, but stressed that the matter would soon be resolved. Route taxi operators islandwide were granted a 25 per cent fare increase, which now takes the base fare from $44 to $55 for the first three kilometres, and a further $3 for each additional kilometre travelled.