KINGSTON, Jamaica — Twelve new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses arrived on the island on Wednesday, bolstering the currently expanding Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) fleet.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, the new CNG buses now join six which had previously arrived in January of this year with two more expected in May, specially outfitted for the disabled community.

The new buses will contribute towards the modernisation of the public transportation sector and alleviate some of the burdens faced by commuters, the ministry said.

Welcoming the arrival, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz commended the collaboration of past transport ministers and the finance minister in improving the transportation sector.

“When you look at the 50 buses that came in last year July that were ordered under the stewardship of Minister Montague and then Minister Shaw, that was 50 buses, 45 diesel and 5 electric at a value of $1 billion. These 20 CNG buses, $650 million, that would be $1.65 billion that has been returned to the people of Jamaica based on our good fiscal responsibility,” Vaz said.

The ministry noted that the government has allocated $2.6 billion for the procurement of 100 additional buses to improve the experience of the commuting public. According to Vaz, they are expected to arrive in time for the back-to-school period in September 2024.

“I can confirm that the 100 buses I committed – CNG Buses – are now in production. Deposits have been made and they will be in production from April 5 and May 10th which means they will leave China at the end of May and arrive here (in Jamaica) by the end of June for July and of course back to school in September. That would be 170 new buses in 18 months.

“Minister of Finance committed to the procurement of 330 buses to be exact, so we have an additional 230 buses that are going to be ordered up to Fiscal Year 2026 at a cost of $4.5 billion. Total spend with the 100 buses, the 70 buses before, and the 230 buses would be almost $10 billion to one entity to provide good transportation for the travelling public,” the minister continued.

In addition to bolstering the JUTC fleet with 12 new CNG buses, Vaz thanked the public for their understanding as the JUTC continues to prioritise initiatives aimed at improving service, reliability, accessibility, efficiency and overall passenger satisfaction.

“You will recall I asked the country and especially commuters to give me six months – that was in December 2023 – and I can say I am well on track to give them the improvements that they so deserve for the sacrifices they have made. And I can say without fear of contradiction that when these 100 buses arrive here by the end of June we will be in a position to replace the average age of 14-year-old buses that are not economically viable or efficient and we will be able to reduce the waiting time and also target specialised routes that need additional buses to allow for the waiting time to be reduced significantly,” he said.