By Halshane Burke
Operators of public passenger vehicles (PPVs) say they will be seeking a 110 per cent increase in fares.
Egeton Newman, President of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), says a special committee was established to determine the fare needed for the sector to survive.
Mr. Newman says the request is the bare minimum for operators to be able to "cover our base" and eke out an acceptable living.
According to Mr. Newman, the country should be divided into regions when fare increases are considered.
"The man in Mandeville who works between Mandeville and Spalding, he might be paying $250 for the travel right now. If you give him 100 per cent, it's $500 between Mandeville and Spalding. That sounds a little bit heavy, don't it? And the man between Mandeville and Santa Cruz, same thing - maybe about $600, right?" he outlined, noting that an operator in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR) would not be able to charge those same fares.
"So we are saying you should have one fare like a stage fare system - one fare for the KMTR, one fare for the rural travel," he suggested.
