ROSE HALL, St James — Privatisation is one of the options being mulled as a solution to what Transport Minister Daryl Vaz has described as inefficiencies at the State-run bus service in western Jamaica.

A decision is expected by this summer.

“It is obviously very short of buses and we have to make some quick decisions in relation to whether or not we privatise MoBay Metro to make the private sector run it more efficiently or we put more resources into it,” the minister said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the Caribbean Spectrum Management Conference held in St James on Tuesday. Vaz said the bus company’s operations are now under review.

Established in 1997, Montego Bay Metro serves St James, Hanover, Trelawny and Westmoreland. However, it is struggling to meet demand as there are only about five buses in operation. There are challenges with maintenance, partially caused by the condition of the roads.

Vaz explained that the review is needed to determine how the bus company will respond to increased demand expected to accompany the raft of developments taking place in that section of the country.

“With the expansions that are happening in St James and the surrounding parishes, Hanover, Trelawny, Westmoreland, and in terms of the development construction boom — hotel rooms, all of that — obviously, people are going to need more efficient transportation, which is a key part of the Government’s agenda,” the minister said.

“Between now and when the buses come we will have a decision on that; but that is definitely something that is top of the agenda. Because what obtains now in terms of MoBay Metro and the fleet that they have and the efficiency of it, it’s not going to be able to deliver what is required,” he said.

One hundred buses are slated to arrive on the island soon, part of an effort to boost operations of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) which services the Kingston Metropolitan area.

“I just got an update last night [Monday] that the 100 buses are finished. They are manufactured and they are now awaiting a shipping date which could be as early as June 7, which would get here sometime about the middle of July,” Vaz revealed.

“We have reached the point where all of those buses are going to be loaded on a vessel, all of them at one time, and arrive in Jamaica in July which means we will have them ready for the back to school,” he pointed out.

Despite this update, he urged Jamaicans who utilise the service to understand the process and recognise that these things take time.

“I ask for patience and I ask the commuters to give me some time. I had mentioned six months in December so I am almost spot on. I can assure you that the 100 new buses that are arriving plus the 70 that are in the fleet now will make a significant improvement in the waiting time and the efficiency of JUTC,” he promised.

As he has done in the past, he stressed that 10 per cent of the new buses will be able to accommodate the physically challenged, boasting about how the Government has pumped resources into the system since he took over the reins of the transport ministry.

“That’s a few billion Jamaican dollars that have been invested by the Government of Jamaica to improve the transport system,” Vaz said.