Prime Minister Mia Mottley tonight announced that bus fares will be moving from $2 to $3.50.
In her Budget Address in the House of Assembly, Mottley said the Transport Board will soon be announcing the provision of weekly and monthly discount packages.
“My Government accepts it has a duty still to subsidise public transport. We will continue to subsidise the cost for school children, continue to subsidise costs for pensioners, continue to subsidise cost for policemen, but we can’t continue to subsidise the losses at $45 million a year. Many hands need to make light work in transport,” said Mottley.
In her presentation, she spoke of a meeting held last year between Government and owners of privately owned PSVs where they made it clear that their interest is not only in an affordable transport sector, but an orderly and reliable transport sector.
The Prime Minister said the Ministry of Transport and Works and Maintenance has been meeting with those in the sector and agreed on a range of measures, to be introduced through legislation. These she said, will hold owners of vehicles in particular, more liable for the conduct of behaviour with respect to their vehicles.
“There will be order in the transport sector, at the same time as people will be allowed to earn properly in the transport sector,” says Mottley. (CM)
