KINGSTON, Jamaica – The newly formed Public Passenger Vehicles (PPV) Steering Committee is to put together a proposal to fine-tune fare adjustments for the transport sector.

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz, made the disclosure during a post-Cabinet press briefing, held Wednesday, at Jamaica House.

The first Steering Committee meeting was held two weeks ago, and another held on Tuesday.

“The report was that the group put together a proposal to fine-tune fare adjustments, which will be concluded with a meeting on Thursday. That will set the stage for recommendations to come through the process, as I know that is a pressing matter – that, along with other issues,” Vaz said.

“The burning issue of a fare increase will be finally dealt with in terms of how it is handled, which means coming up with the formula that will dictate what is the reason for the need for a fare increase,” he added.

The Minister further noted that instead of fare increases being done in an ad hoc manner, he has asked that “a timeline for reviews [be] done, whether it’s annually or biannually… so that we can have something in place, rather than it being ad hoc and coming to the Minister from different organisations”.

The PPV Steering Committee was established on the recommendation of Vaz, following a Transport Authority (TA) Conference held earlier this year. It is chaired by the Managing Director of the Transport Authority, Ralston Smith.

– JIS