Dear Editor,

It goes without saying that the transportation sector is vital to the productive sectors of any economy, especially to an economy which is ailing and suffering from a debt hangover. It must be explicitly stated without fear of equivocation that the local transport system which serves the public, whether in rural or urban areas, is woefully lacking, both in quality and quantity of service. Also to be expressed is the well-known reality that most public transport operators frequently run afoul of the road regulations, and in so doing imperil the lives of commuters.

The Jamaica Urban Transport Company is not immune to the virus of road misuse. Notwithstanding all that’s mentioned and despite the protests of certain segments of the society, it requires no logic to deduce that the transport sector has been dealt a merciless blow to its solar plexus. The recently outlined revenue measures coupled with already extant difficulties such as poor road infrastructure aligned with high prices at the pumps have gone a far way in ensuring that the work of a transport operator borders on being “insolvent”.

With horns of discontent already being sounded, it can be fairly stated that these cries for “justice” are financially legitimate. After all, transport operators have families to support as well, so it is with this in mind that it would be only equitable for the transport operators to be granted a moderate increase in fare rates.

The increase does not have to reflect the full amount requested by the representative bodies. This is taken against the backdrop that commuters have to be considered when granting increases; as such a middle ground can be struck by granting a moderate increase on fare rates. This may just save many operators from extinction.

Noel Forbes Matherson

noelmatherson@gmail.com