KINGSTON, Jamaica— Six new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses have arrived on the island and are expected to be rolled out by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) by the end of October.

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz, made the disclosure during a press conference held at the ministry’s Maxfield Avenue offices in Kingston on Tuesday.

The buses, which are being cleared at the port, are among 20 units, which were ordered through a framework agreement.

Vaz said the remaining 14 buses are expected to arrive by the end of the year.

“The depot for them is established in Portmore, so it means that we can put those six buses on the Portmore or Spanish Town routes and then move buses that are currently serving that area into other [locations] that are short of buses,” he said.

Vaz noted that the six buses will “go a far way in improving efficiency and of course, reducing the wait time for some of these very critical routes” in the mornings and evenings.

“We are in the process of exploring the possibility of a significant amount of buses to arrive in the 2024/25 financial year,” he noted.

“I am hoping that if all goes well, before Christmas, I’ll be able to make an announcement that will make the public transportation commuters very happy for Christmas, knowing that better days are coming in terms of efficient, reliable and comfortable transportation,” Vaz added.

-JIS