THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) earned more than $80 million from two initiatives implemented last month, even as the State-owned entity complained that illegal operators continued to eat into its revenues by as much as $20 million per day.

According to JUTC Managing Director Colin Campbell, the bonus top up initiative, carried out last December, and the special services provided on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, hauled in $78 million and $6 million respectively for the beleaguered bus company.

At the same time, Campbell told the Jamaica Observer last week that there are some routes still not seeing the best profits due to illegal units, also known as ‘robots’. However, the bus company in conjunction with the Transport Authority and the police continue to work on overcoming the issue.

Despite the plague of illegal operators, Campbell is upbeat about the reform of the franchise system which was rolled out in April last year, stating that “it is going well”. He was, however, unable to provide any estimate as to how much the company’s revenues had been boosted as a result of the initiative.

An additional $5 million per day was the target set last year when the system was being rolled out. This is expected to move the JUTC’s earnings from just over $300 million to approximately $400 million per month, Campbell outlined at a press conference.

One of the JUTC’s most recent moves to prevent the bleeding of scarce revenue is to stop some commuters circumventing the system by selecting the option to pay concessionary fares when they are in fact not entitled to that benefit.

The move has not gone down well with many commuters, and the JUTC has had to put systems in place to mitigate the possibility of conflict, by engaging its inspectors, along with the help of a special police team, to ensure order on the units.

Asked about a timeline for a total cashless system, the JUTC head said it was not expected that the system will ever be fully cashless, noting also that while there are no pressing or specific challenges at this time, gradual improvements are being made as the need arises.

The company has issued 200,000 active cards since September 1 when its electronic fare collection system was implemented.