In the early 1990s Mr Daryl Vaz planted the first seed of the reputation he now has as a man who gets things done. At the time he was not in Government. He was engaged in private business.

We stand to be corrected, but if our memory serves us right he pioneered the used-car industry by importing 78 cars from Japan and promoted the venture using the catchy slogan ‘Let Daryl do it’.

Additionally, his advocacy led to a used-car policy and the establishment of the Jamaica Used Car Dealers’ Association which he served as founding president.

Subsequently, during his time in Government, we have seen him take on some difficult issues, the most recent being Jamaica Public Service’s exorbitant bills, and unseemly delays in electricity restoration following Hurricane Beryl.

Now, with the handover of 100 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) last Tuesday, Mr Vaz, the minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport, has set his sights on the State-owned bus company, promising to improve efficiency in service and general operations.

It’s a huge task, for this is a company that, after having been introduced in July 1998 to replace the ramshackle free-for-all excuse for a public transportation service that existed before, has slowly deteriorated.

Poor management, indiscipline, thievery, and political interference have all contributed to the state of the company today.

Credible information we have is that the loss from pilferage of diesel fuel and fare collection is approximately $500 million annually.

We recall reporting in early 2023 that the JUTC had projected a net loss of $7 billion for the next fiscal year. In addition to the challenges we pointed to above, the company reported a drop in ridership fuelled by unit downtime due to the age of its fleet and competition from route taxis.

The Government, obviously recognising the need for an efficient State-run public transport system, has been upgrading the fleet with new buses — a total now of 170 since last year, and another 100 to come by July next year, Mr Vaz has said.

The decision to acquire units that run on CNG is commendable as, based on Minister Vaz’s calculation, CNG will result in fuel savings of $1.8 billion annually.

Mr Vaz also told us that the Administration has set about refurbishing buses that have been parked for some time — 30 of them being the articulated units that can move more passengers than regular buses.

As the fleet is increased and upgraded we expect that the company will be restructured and all that needs to be done to ensure that it operates efficiently is in fact done. For, as we have often stated, the burden that the JUTC has been placing on the public purse has simply been too heavy.

That restructuring, we submit, should involve the Administration taking the hard decision to rid the company of political hacks who are collecting public money without exchange for skilled labour.

We have previously suggested that the Government seek assistance from individuals who are skilled at running businesses to oversee the operations of the JUTC, because a country such as ours, with limited financial resources and heavy demand for social services, cannot ignore the importance of having a public bus service cover its costs.

Minister Vaz has turned the key in what we hope will be the engine of change at the JUTC. If he can go the full distance, and get the company humming, he would have done the country a great service