PORT ANTONIO, Portland — Missed opportunities to participate in activities beyond the classroom, leaving home in the wee hours of the morning and getting home after dark have become the norm for many students in Portland. They, and the teachers who see the toll taken on them by an inadequate transportation system, are longing for the day when the proposed rural bus system becomes a reality.

“It is very difficult to get to and from school. There was a bus but it had problems and it’s not in operation again; however, it was not always reliable. I would get up at 4:00 am and get the transport at 6:00 am to Buff Bay and then another transport to school,” said grade nine student Akela Williams who lives in Bybrook, West Portland.

“If a system is put in place, I would love to see consistency and if it is not working one day, we are told so we can make an alternative plan. A reliable, consistent service would be good. I would have liked to be involved in co-curricular activities but I had to give this up as I would get home too late,” the Titchfield High School student told the Jamaica Observer.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who is also the Member of Parliament for Portland Western, has signalled his intention to have a bus system in place for rural Jamaica. It is an announcement welcomed by Akela and her peers.

Matthew Graham, who lives in Chepstowe, West Portland, had a similar tale of having to leave the comfort of his bed early in the mornings. He said his earlier effort to wake at 4:00 am was abandoned after he realised he was unable to get a taxi before 6:00 am. These days he wakes at 5:00 am and leaves home an hour later.

“Sometimes I have to wait all one hour before I get something to Buff Bay. Buff Bay to Port Antonio is still a challenge as the drivers don’t like to take males alone as they like to lap up [have them sit on each other’s laps]. So it is kind of hard for the males to get transportation to school. I would like to join some of the sports at school but due to the taxi situation, I can’t. I would reach home late and I have animals to look about,” said Matthew.

He had one positive comment about the current situation.

“The cost is manageable as from where I live to Buff Bay is $100 and the same to Port Antonio,” said the youngster.

He dreams of the day he will have other positive thoughts to share on the issue.

“I would love a transportation system, especially if it is on time. Leaving at 5:30 in the morning and getting back by six o’clock will be good for me. I need a reliable and guaranteed transportation system” he said.

Tyler Hewitt, another ninth grader from Titchfield High, lives in Windsor Forrest, East Portland and he is not immune to the challenges faced by his peers. He has described the transport minister’s proposal as “very good” but he has a checklist of requirements that he is hoping the rural bus system will meet.

“It has to get me to school early and back home early. The [existing] transportation is not reliable as sometimes I have to go to Black Rock to get something to Port Antonio; and if I am lucky I will get a taxi at my yard gate to Portie [Port Antonio]. Sometimes I have to walk to Black Rock,” said Tyler.

“I get up at five in the mornings and leave at six and get back home at five in the evenings. I am not involved in any activities after school. I had joined the track programme and it was hard to get home so I gave it up because it was very hard getting transport to go home. The cost to get to school is $200 and the same to get back,” he added.

Lanice Hall, one of the guidance counsellors at Titchfield High, also had strong views on the issue. She stressed that whatever is put in place for Portland must be tailor-made for the parish.

“A rural transportation system can work; however, it needs meticulous planning, committed and dedicated persons, and reliable vehicles. The roads need to be fixed also, but the best way is if the assembly and destination points for the vehicle(s) are from the community the students are from,” she said.

“The bus programme that we have now for students on PATH is working. School closes at 2:30 pm and the bus leaves at 2:50 pm to 3:00 pm. The students are assured of a ride home early. However, most of them do not participate in co-curricular activities and a number of parents are trying to get their children in on this form of transportation,” she explained.

PATH (Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education) is the Government’s flagship social assistance programme. Administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security it currently provides cash grants to more than 3500,000 beneficiaries.

Hall believes that the rural school bus system, if it is implemented, will help students in terms of getting more rest, study time and to be involved in extracurricular activities at school.

“Persons who live in particular areas can converge at a particular area to be transported; that can work also. However, this will call for reliable transportation. Students also have problems getting home so they have to know their transportation time and get to the access areas on time,” said Hall.

The issue of adequate transportation to and from school is a topic often discussed at Titchfield High, which recently lost three male students in the western section of the parish due to fatal motor vehicle crashes on their way home from school.

The guidance counsellor spoke of other ways in which her students, most of whom are from deep rural areas, are impacted.

“If a taxi breaks down the students will be late for the morning session or miss it and may be absent for the day. They will get a taxi at five o’clock, another at six, to school as the eight o’clock one will be taking working persons. This impacts their academic performance as they miss out on those lessons and at times it depends on the student. If they miss a taxi they will be late and sometimes they are tired because of the time they have to get up just to reach school on time,” she told the Observer.

Teacher of language arts and literature at Port Antonio High, Sydonnique McLeod-Johnson also spoke of a similar impact on her students.

MCLEOD-JOHNSON… the inadequate transportation system impacts some students’ health and ability to focus in class (Photo: Everard Owen)

“I know of a student who must catch a vehicle at 5:00 am to be at school on time. If that vehicle leaves the student behind, the next one comes at 6:30, which would be too late. The student is often tired because he has to be up so early and no breakfast is prepared that early for the child. This leads the child to be eating unhealthy snacks in the morning which limits proper nutrition. The child does little or no work because he sleeps during class,” she said.

“The suggestion is a good one and would mean that a number of buses would be coming from various points to assist those in worse-case scenarios,” continued McLeod-Johnson.

Kay King, who is also a language teacher at Port Antonio High, spoke of the impact limited access to efficient transportation has on students in “deep rural areas”, especially those on the afternoon shift.

“Many have to leave home in the very early hours of the morning to catch the available vehicles even though they might be hours early for school,” she noted. “Students are often tired by the time it’s their shift time, hence negatively impacting their ability for optimal academic performance. A rural bus system would be ideal if the schedule of the buses is made with the students’ realities in mind. This can be very effective.”

Port Antonio High student Adriana Davis, who lives at Commodore in west Portland, is all too familiar with the inconvenience and the expense.

Two Titchfield High School students who were passengers in the taxi died after it collided with a parked truck on the Blueberry Hill main road in Buff Bay, Portland, last month.

“It cost me $400 per day — $200 to go and $200 to get back from a school. I get up at 5:00 am each day and get back from school between 3:30 pm and 5:00 pm, depending on how it goes with the transportation,” she told the Observer.

“I would like if the Government offered buses to schools — like Coasters and even the smaller ones — not for specific schools though but all schools. It would change for the better, and students would be able to get home on time, wake up at a reasonable time and so on to get to and from school,” she said.