OPPOSITION spokesman on transport Mikael Phillips has declared that the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is in its “most pathetic state” since its creation, warning that the state-run bus company has spent the last decade “languishing in the hospital’s accident and emergency department” amid mounting losses and policy neglect.

Making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives Wednesday, Phillips accused the Government of allowing the country’s main public bus operator to drift deeper into financial and operational crisis despite billions of dollars in subsidies and the acquisition of hundreds of new buses.

“For a decade now, the JUTC has been languishing in the hospital’s accident and emergency department, left on a bench without a bed. They have called on a carpenter to examine the patient, when what is truly required is oxygen, and a skilled physician to diagnose the ailment and prescribe the cure,” Phillips said.

He argued that the company’s financial position had deteriorated sharply under the current administration, and criticised what he described as misleading accounting practices. He argued that Government subsidies were being treated as revenue while the company continued to suffer major operational losses.

“The financial wreckage is undeniable. The JUTC has incurred cumulative losses of more than $100 billion over the last decade, a direct consequence of this administration’s apathy that has left the company in this pathetic state. A staggering $14.8 billion loss is projected for this financial year alone, with the entity remaining operational only through a $11 billion government grant,” he said.

Phillips also argued that despite the purchase of more than 250 new buses in recent years, the company’s core performance indicators remained weak, including farebox revenue, fleet availability and daily bus deployment.

“To illustrate the gravity of the crisis, Madam Speaker, yesterday, May 12, 2026, a mere 221 buses were deployed from all three JUTC depots to service the approximately 80 routes across the island. Four fifty is an optimal number,” Phillips said.

He also questioned rising maintenance and fuel costs within the company, particularly given that a large portion of the fleet now consists of compressed natural gas and electric buses.

“It is truly alarming that although 66 per cent of the current fleet comprises newer units, repair and maintenance costs are set to increase by $3 billion, reaching a staggering $4.2 billion,” he argued.

Phillips additionally criticised the JUTC’s expansion into rural routes, saying the move had triggered growing tension between the State-run company and private transport operators.

“On April 20, 2026, barely a month ago, the Ocho Rios to Kingston corridor was plunged into chaos as bus operators withdrew their services. They were protesting against the State-owned JUTC, whose recent incursions into their licenced routes have been described as a direct assault on their livelihoods. These operators contended that JUTC is leveraging artificially low fares to create an unfair competitive environment, whittling away routes’ revenue expectations,” Phillips said.

The Opposition spokesman argued that the worsening crisis reflected the absence of a coherent national transport policy and warned that continued delays in reform would further weaken public transportation across the island.

“Madam Speaker, the moment has arrived for this administration to demonstrate genuine and earnest resolve to rescue the JUTC from its current peril,” he declared.