KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Opposition Shadow Minister of Transport and Works, Mikael Phillips, says public transport is heading into a state of crisis and uncertainty due to the continuing weekly increases in the price of fuel.

In a statement today, Phillips said some operators are having serious difficulty coping with fuel prices, which is now at the highest level the country has ever experienced.

“Many are having difficulty while others have resorted to illegal fare increases, burdening commuters, who are also unable to meet any hike in public transport fares,” he said.

The PNP spokesman said that according to reports reaching him, some operators have increased their fares by as much as 100 per cent as a means of surviving higher fuel rates. He said this was unacceptable and “both the Ministry of Transport and the Transport Authority appear to be impotent in regulating taxi and rural bus operations and are sitting idly while this situation spreads across Jamaica”.

Phillips called on the Minister of Transport, Robert Montague, to immediately convene a meeting with public transport sector representatives to work out mechanisms for the survival of the operators and implement strategies for the protection of commuters.

Phillips warned that the Opposition is not in support of any bus and taxi fare increases at this time, with parents facing the expensive back to school period, adding that fare increases would represent an additional burden which would be too much to be absorbed in an already limited budget.