President of the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) Wayne Chen has stated that if the public transport sector is to be sustainable, it has to be treated as an economic enterprise, rather than a social benefit.

He was speaking on Wednesday evening at the weekly virtual meeting of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS).

Mr Chen said if the public transport business is viewed as a social good service, the next natural question is who will pay for it, which then leads to an expectation that government will cover the costs.

He lamented that presently, PPV operators bear the brunt of costs associated with the service they provide, and its an expensive undertaking.

He also noted that the fares charged by operators, must be economically viable.

Mr Chen added that if it is only the operators who bear the costs, they will leave the sector due to lack of profit.