Proposals that maximum bus fares should be decreased continue to be submitted by members of the public.

However, some members of the public also submitted that they were willing to pay for increased fares with new buses and improved services.

The submissions also noted that services of buses around the country should also increase.

The national consultation on bus fare review ended on a high note last night in Ba as submissions continue to pour in through other platforms such as emails, text and post.

The Review Committee Chairman, Joel Abraham is urging members of the public to take advantage of the consultations around the country.

Abraham says unique issues have been discovered at these consultations where members of the public carefully and openly dissected their opinions on the bus fare structure, e‑ticketing, bus conditions, smoke emission and oil spillage, among other interesting issues.

The committee assures members of the public that these consultations are done in an open platform where their opinions and feedbacks are taken into consideration.

Members of the public are being reminded that their opinions matters and will help with the formulation of the new bus fare structure that will be announced next year.

Abraham says it is worth noting that some bus services in the Western Division is a concern, with frequent mechanical failures according to issues raised in Lautoka yesterday.

The consultations were held in Sigatoka today and the committee will be in Labasa this Saturday and the Central/Eastern Division from next week.

Any changes in maximum fares is expected to take effect in January 2018 at the earliest.