Editorial | Rethink public transport

On the face of it, there would hardly be a reasonable complaint against the 35 per cent increase in fares, to be implemented in two tranches, the Government approved for public transport operators last week, although the compounding effect could mean the real hike is around 38 per cent.

For when the issue is stripped to its core, the Government, for several years, forced operators to subsidise commuters, while taxpayers annually bailed out the state-owned bus company to the tune of around J$11 billion.

Between those two policy actions lies a significant portion of the reason for Jamaica’s largely ramshackle public transport system, especially in urban centres, where overcrowded buses and taxis jostle for passengers, ignore traffic rules, and generally impair people’s safety.

Even with the first 19 per cent of the hike now implemented, a six-and-half-kilometre route taxi ride in Kingston officially costs J$160, or US$1.02.

Against the backdrop of the long-standing cockeyed policies in the sector, it was hoped that Daryl Vaz, the new transport minister, would grasp the moment to launch a fundamental reset of the system, starting with how fares are set, but more critically, the establishment of a long-term transformative transport strategy to support the country’s economic and social development.

Mr Vaz should have made it clear that this was the last time that public passenger fares would be directly determined by the political executive, notwithstanding that on this occasion the increases were based on recommendations from an industry committee that included the political Opposition.

REMIT OF THE OUR

Fare determinations should be the remit of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), subject to rigorous analysis of relevant economic data – which it was for a time, until a dozen years ago when it was taken out of the hands of the utilities regulator by Portia Simpson Miller’s administration.

That move allowed the ascendancy of politics over economics in deciding the cost of bus and taxi rides.

The result was that for eight years, up to 2021, there were no official increases in bus and route taxi fares. Some operators unofficially compensated themselves by tacking on a few dollars here and there, shortening their routes, and hustling dangerously on the roads. Meanwhile, the subsidies ensured that, technically, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), the government company, kept running without having to increase its fares.

In 2021, the Government finally announced a 25 per cent fare hike for the operators, which, like now, was to be implemented in two tranches. The first 15 per cent was done. The second bit, as Mr Vaz reminded, was never imposed.

A clue to how that decision was arrived at is perhaps contained in last year’s inflation rate of 10.35 per cent, and the minister’s observations last week about the impact of rising prices globally.

“We are cognisant of the ravaging effect of inflation worldwide, which Jamaica is experiencing as well, and as we know, transportation has an inflationary impact,” he said.

So, when the next tranche of the fare hikes comes due in March, the Government, Mr Vaz said, will “see how best we can cushion the impact of this increase”.

The Government’s concern about the effect of rising prices on consumers, commuters included, is quite understandable. It is what citizens expect of their governments.

CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY

However, substituting economics for politics is neither a good nor sustainable policy. The result for Jamaica’s public transportation sector was the entrenchment of chaos and the worsening of the ramshackle system.

Mr Vaz can change this trajectory, and give the Government plausible deniability in the event of commuter peeve for fare hikes, by putting their determination back in the hands of the OUR. The outcomes, although Mr Vaz may not believe it now, will be better for transport operators and commuters.

First, if commuters consistently paid something close to the economic fare for travel – either directly or via clear and quantifiable subsidies from the national treasury – the Government would be in a stronger position to insist on quality service, including strict adherence to the rules, from the service providers.

This, however, cannot happen in a vacuum, or in isolation from a broader integrated strategy for economic growth and social development.

The Jamaican economy loses tens of millions of man-hours annually by commuters having to contend with an inefficient and wearying public transport system, or stuck in traffic gridlocks in vehicles transporting only the drivers.

Yet, the island spends over US$300 million a year importing vehicles, in part because people want to extricate themselves from that lousy system, which is exacerbated by concerns for security and personal safety, and concepts of social mobility. Apart from the import cost of the vehicles, the sector consumes around a third of the over 22 million barrels of oil imported annually, for which last year’s figure was more than US$2 billion.

Mr Vaz’s transport policy should, therefore, take into account Jamaica’s relatively small size, the effects of global warming, and how the island can better utilise its financial and other resources.

Policy in that regard should consider the possible regulation of private vehicles and the compensatory mechanism thereof; and how transportation (public and private) interface with, and influence, national economic outcomes.