.png)
By Prince Moore
President of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS) Egeton Newman has admitted that he blundered in agreeing to a delay in the 16 per cent increase for bus and taxi fares without consultation with the operators.
The increase was due on April 1, but the government served notice that the fare increase would be delayed.
No timeline has been given as to when the increase will be implemented.
Disgruntled bus and taxi operators are still up in arms over the government's decision to delay the fare increase.
Mr. Newman says there was no consultation with the transport groups before the government proposal was accepted.
Speaking Wednesday night on TVJ's All Angles, Mr. Newman said he should have done things differently.
"I think we have made a mistake and it's for us to revisit what we have done. It cannot be changed but we are putting in things in place as we speak to address the shortfalls.... We have given the minister our word. He has said hopefully the next financial year, if inflation stays at single digits by November of this year. We accept," he acknowledged.
But public transport operator Conroy Nesbeth is questioning why transport operators are being asked to bear the burden of keeping inflation down.
He argued that drivers have faced constant increases at the pumps for the last 10 years "and every month when we have to service our vehicle that we use to provide the essential service of transportation, we face an increase".
"We are saying that it is not fair to us to shoulder this burden. Every other business in this country reflects the price because it's about business and once you doing business, you're doing it for a profit. We have families, we have expenses like everyone else," he insisted.
Mr. Nesbeth was also a guest on All Angles.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
