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JUTC Managing Director Paul Abrahams, Permanent Secretary in the Transport Ministry Alwin Hayles and PAAC Chairman Mikael Phillips
By Warren Bertram
The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) is promising to implement its cashless fare system by February 2023.
JUTC Managing Director Paul Abrahams on Wednesday told Parliament's Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) that the final bid from the prospective supplier has been submitted and the bus company is awaiting approval from the Transport Ministry.
"Tender was out and the evaluation was completed by the ministry, I think, last week. We are now awaiting the report from the ministry as to who the chosen provider is," he told the committee.
Permanent Secretary in the Transport Ministry Alwin Hayles said the proposed cashless system would not require a hefty initial cash injection from the JUTC for implementation.
He explained that the mechanism will be "similar to a point of sale system" in that "the proponents of the system would be paid a small percentage of each transaction that goes through the system".
PAAC Chairman Mikael Phillips, while welcoming the new electronic process, expressed disappointment in the delayed implementation.
Mr. Phillips also questioned the real benefit it would have amid the major financial losses facing the company and the fact that "a large percentage of [its] fare box goes to the pockets of others and not the JUTC".
"We talk about the fare box and we have not yet put anything in place or the resources to put anything in place. It begs the question, how serious are we in really cauterising some of these issues, seeing that we are asking taxpayers to spend nearly $8 billion of subvention to the JUTC," he asserted.
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