Upgraded Buses May Mean Increased Bus Fares

But, will the Ministry of Transport approve an increase in bus fares so that operators can meet the expenses necessary to upgrade their buses? The issue was raised in Monday’s meeting. C.E.O. Sanchez says, the ministry is prepared to support applications for financing from preferred banking institutions. And, increasing fares through a tiered approach is also an option on the table.

Adele Catzim-Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Transport

Adele Catzim-Sanchez

“We had discussion about that because we understand that there is need for cost recovery and at the end of the day there has to be some level of profitability even though this is a public good, investors need to have a return on their investment. So we understand that part. At the meeting yesterday we threw out several options on how we can work together. Those options we look at more closely at the level of government and decide on which one we think will be more feasible moving forward. One of the options that came out was even having different grades or classes of buses. So you might have a premier bus, a coach, an economy class and that will help us to have a tiered approach to looking at bus fares and it also leaves it open to the commuters to decide at what is affordable to them.”