The Government of Saint Lucia and the National Council on Public Transportation (NCOPT) are in talks over a hike in bus fares as a result of increases in the price of fuel.
Saint Lucians, this week, begun paying more for cooking gas, gasoline and diesel despite the subsidization of these commodities by government.
The NCOPT has already presented government with proposal that included a hike in bus fares, however is not saying by how much.
Governmentās position on the NCOPTās request is also unclear, however sources have indicated that what the NCOPT is asking is inevitable given the recent increase in petroleum prices on the world market.
Loop News Saint Lucia, an online media platform, quoted Stephenson King, Minister responsible for Transportation as saying that an increase in bus fares seems likely on the horizon.
āAs to what the magnitude of the increase shall be I cannot determine at this time,ā Loop News quoted King as saying.
The Caribbean Development Bank conducted a study in Saint Lucia on public transportation which examined mechanisms for calculating bus fares and the possibility of government as a key transport provider.