Public Passengers to Pay 19 Per Cent More as of October 15

There will be a 19 per cent increase in public passenger fares effective this Sunday, October 15.

The announcement was made by Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, in a statement to the House of Representatives, today (October 10).

The Minister informed that a subcommittee of the Public Transport Operators Steering Committee “had meticulously integrated a multidimensional approach into crafting a fair and equitable fare adjustment proposal, all things being equal”.

He said that the proposal was presented to the Cabinet and the 19 per cent increase was approved.

This is in addition to a further 16 per cent increase effective April, 2024.

“That was done, Madame Speaker, because we are cognisant of the inflationary impact of transportation and, therefore, it was a consensus that we wanted to see how best we could cushion this and, of course, allow for the new financial year and the Minister of Finance to take this into consideration ahead of time,” Mr. Vaz said.

He also reminded that in 2021, a 25 per cent increase in fares was approved but only 15 per cent was implemented at the time.

“In essence, that 10 per cent that they didn’t get is a part of this staggered increase,” Mr. Vaz explained.

At the same time, the Minister, in pointing out that “it cannot all be about a fair increase”, assured that the Steering Committee is also assessing various operational challenges within the transportation sector, with the collective aim of tackling the prevailing issues.

“These issues include the lamentable condition of transportation infrastructure throughout the island, enforcement matters, and the state of road markings and signage,” Mr. Vaz outlined.