In a meeting held on Thursday, March 28, 2024, involving key government officials including Dr. Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, and Daryl Vaz, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, discussions centered on the impending 16% fare increase slated for April 1, 2024. Minister Clarke acknowledged the sector’s challenges and requested a deferral of the fare hike to maintain single-digit inflation, crucial for economic stability.
Read the release:
Kingston, Jamaica – On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, the Hon. Daryl Vaz, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Carol Palmer and the team from the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, and the management of the Transport Authority, met with members of the Transport Operators Steering Committee and other transport sector leaders to discuss the impending 16% fare increase due April 1, 2024.
In asking the sector for a deferral of the expected 16% rate increase, Minister Clarke acknowledged that the Government recognized the hardships faced by the sector and what a fare increase would mean for their operations but cited the need to maintain inflation in single digits in order to keep the economy on course; noting that the transportation sector has one of the largest impacts on inflation.
Minister Vaz commended the operators for their understanding and their acceptance of the deferral and gave his commitment to continue to work collaboratively with them to identify and agree other incentives. In so doing, he mandated the Transport Operators Steering Committee to meet and design a comprehensive transportation incentive framework that would take into account measures that would have less adverse impacts on inflation.
Minister Vaz also assured the sector that the following concerns would be addressed in this Financial Year, the:
● replenishing of rolling stock through an adjustment to the Motor Vehicle Import Policy;
● implementation of the driver training programme; and
● upgrading of transport centres across the island.
Applauding the Minister’s collaborative approach since assuming responsibility for the Transport portfolio, the representatives from the sector expressed appreciation for the forthright approach taken by Minister Vaz in communicating the Government’s position in this matter.
