No change to JUTC funding

Spending for operating expenses of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) remains flat this fiscal year with the Government allocating $504 million to the cash-strapped bus company.

However, $54 million of this amount has been earmarked to offset the payment of outstanding pension contributions.

Last year, the JUTC received $450 million to fund its operations, $150 million less than the sum allocated in the 2010-2011 financial year.

Struggling to provide an efficient service to the commuting public, the JUTC got into hot water earlier this year when it was revealed that the state transport company had failed to remit statutory deductions to the tune of $4.9 billion to the relevant authorities.

Admitting that the resources allocated to it were woefully inadequate, the JUTC was quoted as saying in the auditor general's latest annual report that "it continues to grapple with insufficient fare revenue from operations, and an unrealistic subvention to cover the gap in its operating costs".