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Head of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Franchise Protection and Management Unit, Radcliffe Lewis, said that within a two-year period, fraud on the buses has moved down from 80 per month to six currently.

Lewis, who gave the figures yesterday at a press conference at the JUTC commercial offices at Twickenham Park in Spanish Town, St Catherine, said the aim is to bring the figure to zero.

The former Senior Superintendent of Police said within two years, a total of 32 drivers and nine passengers have been arrested. He said that the passengers have been charged with fraudulent use of cards, while the drivers have been charged separately.

He said some of the cases are currently before the court, while in other cases, some of the drivers have either resigned or have ran away and are now being sought.

His point followed that of JUTC's managing director, Colin Campbell, who declared that the revenue team's duty is to protect the interests of the JUTC and also the sub franchise operators.

At the press conference, it was also revealed that JUTC's projection of $5.2 billion for 2015 stood at $2.98 billion within the first seven months.

The issue of traffic accidents involving JUTC buses was also addressed, as it was disclosed that there were 565 accidents involving JUTC buses so far this year, compared to 1,124 last year. The JUTC says it will be partnering with the police in order to further reduce the number of traffic accidents involving its drivers.