KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS) is calling on the Government to consider a second stimulus package for the island’s public transport sector.

The group said it believes it should be considered by the government at this time “as the end of the pandemic is nowhere in sight and could get worse if the new wave now affecting several other countries continue to impact Jamaica”.

It noted that the sector has been undergoing financial strain for the past eight years including the absence of a fare increase in the face of rising operating costs between 200 and 400 per cent, a condition TODSS said send scores of operators into early retirement or shut down of business due to a 65 per cent reduction in daily income.

It added that one of the major problems in the sector at this time is where some 18 per cent of the sector’s investors have their units repossessed by financial institutions due to their inability to pay outstanding loans.

The group said that the sector is under great strain to continue to provide service to the commuting public and therefore needs some form of stimulus especially in the light that face-to-face school could reopen in January.

The TODSS said it would be grateful for a discussion with government to explain the sector’s plight at this time.