Bus and taxi fares will increase from this Wednesday.
It has been confirmed that bus fares will increase by an average of 13 percent.
Transport Ministry spokesperson, Sainiana Waqainabete also confirms that the flag fall rate of taxis will increase from $1 to $1.50 in the day while the flagfall rate or the starting rate will be $2.00 from 10pm to 6am.
Waiting charges for taxis will also increase from the current 10 cents for every 2 minutes to 10 cents per minute from Wednesday.
Waqainabete said due to the merging of some stages, bus fares are expected to increase by 20 cents.
One such example is the stages that currently cover Suva to Nabua.
Waqainabete said the decision reached has not been an easy one for government due to the difficult economic times and recognizing that the bus and taxi industries are the main providers for basic, affordable transportation for the majority of the population.
She said various factors were taken into consideration. Firstly the devaluation of the Fiji dollar and the fact that there have been five price hikes for fuel over the five months this year.
Waqainabete said the government also acknowledges that prices for spare parts for both taxis and buses have increased significantly. For example, some bus tyre prices have increased from 573 dollars to 991 dollars.
She also said that government has since last year, audited daily revenue earned by both buses and taxis and as such, it has established that they are indeed encountering trying periods.
However these increases have been granted with certain conditions which will include the ongoing training for both taxi and bus operators to ensure their drivers are taught on driver behaviour. Others issues include the safety aspect as well as the general upkeep and maintenance of their buses or taxis.
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Bus, taxi fares to increase
