Bus Fare Expected To Increase

Bus fare is expected to increase. This was after bus operators sought a 60 per cent increase in stage one fares and an increase from 25 to 30 per cent in other stages.

Fijian Competition Consumer Commission chief executive officer Joel Abraham said they have a stringent bus fare review process that would determine if a change in the bus fare is needed and by how much.

“Fiji is not immune to the effects of global presence, we need to be preparing for price rises as we are bracing for unprecedented hikes in fuel prices and other important commodities such as wheat in the foreseeable future,” Mr Abraham said.

“This is directly driven by the Russian-Ukraine war, disruptions to the freight rates and ongoing domestic policies in some of our important base markets.

“We are preparing for monthly increases in fuel prices, which is driven up and will also result in price increases of other products.

“Fiji gets its fuel primarily from Singapore where it purchases crude oil and refined oil, which it uses to create fuel.

Mr Abraham said that more crude oil has become more difficult and expensive to obtain as Russia’s supply is restricted globally.

As a result, it now costs Singapore more to buy crude oil and refine it. This increases the price that we purchase at Fiji being a price taker in the global market.

“FCCC is currently in the final stages of assessing the cost components and is expected to complete the exercise in early May,” Mr Abraham said.

The commission’s chief legal counsel David Solvalu said that every cent is fought for and is scrutinized very closely.