THE near 30-year-old Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is in its worst state ever, losing nearly $100 billion under the stewardship of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government, according to Opposition spokesman on transport Mikael Phillips.

Making his contribution to the 2025/26 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House on Tuesday Phillips said that in 2016 when the JLP returned to office the JUTC carried 63 million passengers, but that number has plunged to just 18 million in 2024.

Phillips also said that in 2016 the JUTC had a daily bus run-out of 450 compared to 203 last year. Additionally, he said the operational cost recovery in 2016 was 70 per cent compared to 12 per cent in 2024, and fare box revenue totalled $4.5 billion in 2016 compared to just $1.4 billion last year.

“Today, the JUTC is in its worst state in history, losing almost $100 billion under this Administration. If Jamaica had properly invested those taxpayer dollars the country would have had a public transport system unmatched anywhere in the world. Instead, it is the opposite. Productivity is low, and public frustration is high, and the national happiness index reflects that reality,” Phillips charged.

“This Government has failed the transportation sector and, by extension, the people of Jamaica. We on this side [Opposition] have offered several recommendations, not for headlines but because we know that a robust, efficient, and reliable transport system is essential to real economic growth. That growth is missing, and the transportation crisis is a significant reason,” he argued.

According to Phillips, “nowhere else in the Government is the lack of policy and inept operational plans more evident than in the public transport sector”. “The almost 10 years of JLP Administration have seen constant decline, from crisis to crisis. In the end, commuters and transport operators are worse off,” he declared.

“This Government has cycled through four different ministers of transport, yet the sector remains stagnant. We have repeatedly asked: ‘Where is the national transport plan? What is the long-term vision to improve the public transportation system, especially for the one million Jamaicans who depend on it daily? This Government’s ad hoc, patchwork approach has not — and will not — work for commuters or operators,” he stated.

Phillips reminded that the JUTC was created in 1998 when his father, former Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips, was the minister of transport in the then PJ Patterson-led People’s National Party Administration. He said it was created through great sacrifice by taxpayers and then-existing franchise holders.

“The then PNP Government envisioned a first class transit system in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR), including Portmore and Spanish Town, with eventual expansion to Montego Bay and other rural areas. That was real planning — putting Jamaica first, not political expediency,” he said.

He lamented that this year the JUTC is expected to record a loss of $13 billion, with a Government subsidy of $11 billion.

“Despite operating with less than half the required fleet, taxpayers are spending more to operate a broken bus system; you are more concerned about headlines than dealing with the reality of an ailing JUTC,” he told Government Members of Parliament.

He reminded that in March, during the Standing Finance Committee meeting, he posed questions to Transport Minister Daryl Vaz regarding the state of the JUTC. He said the minister is yet to respond.

Phillips repeated the questions.

1. What would cause a $1.8-billion increase in salaries at the JUTC, for this financial year, as stated in the Jamaica Public Bodies, from $4.32 billion to $6.12 billion?

2. What would cause a $414-million increase in toll charges, from $194 million to $608 million?