KINGSTON, Jamaica — Effective January 1, 2018, there will be an increase in the fare structure for the JUTC’s Premium Specialty Service, the State run bus service has announced.

JUTC, in a statement today, said that the decision became necessary as a result of high operational costs which the company was no longer able to absorb.

The company said that the increase will vary depending on individual routes.

“We must advise the public that we were faced with the option of discontinuing the service or increasing the fare structure to make the service viable. We opted for the latter,” the JUTC statement said.

JUTC emphasised that the pending increases will apply only to its Premium Specialty Service. “At this time, no consideration is being given to increasing the fares for our regular service,” the bus company stated.

The Premium Specialty Service is a specialised offering provided by the company that plies 26 routes from as far as Longville, Clarendon, and Linstead, St Catherine into the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region.