A combination of recently implemented measures has led to the prevention of just under $27 million in fuel theft in February alone at the State-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC).

The foiling of a decades-old problem at the bus company was announced on Tuesday at a news conference by Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who indicated that the measures include intelligence-gathering; new and strict bus dispatch procedures; 24-hour police deployment at the JUTC depot in Spanish Town, St Catherine; as well as an ongoing operational collaboration with the police.

“The joint operations have significantly disrupted fuel theft, resulting in a substantial drop in the take of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) at the JUTC Spanish Town depot for February 2025 compared to previous months. These deliberate actions by the JUTC and the police to disrupt the fuel theft will save the Jamaican taxpayer millions of dollars,” Vaz told journalists inside the boardroom at Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in St Andrew.

Describing the theft of fuel as one of the thorniest issues impacting JUTC, Vaz said the bus company prevented the theft of 135,992 litres of ULSD, valued at $26,845,600, in February.

He pointed out that had the illegal activity been sustained for a 12-month period, it would have cost taxpayers $322,147,200 for the period.

“To cauterise the illegal activity, in January the JUTC executed joint operations with the Spanish Town police which resulted in multiple seizures of stolen diesel oil and made significant arrests,” he said.

Underscoring his point that the security measures are working, Vaz pointed to comparative data for the months of November and December 2024 and January and February 2025.

“In November 2024 there were seven tanker loads or 219,254 litres [stolen]. In December 2024 there were eight tanker loads or 250,570 litres. In January 2025 there were seven tanker loads, or 219,254 litres, and in February there were just three tanker loads or 93,600 litres. From a high of 250,000 litres to 93,600 litres is a difference of $32 million,” he said.

“I want to commend the acting head of JUTC, former Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington and Police Commissioner Kevin Blake and the teams at JUTC and the police hierarchy. This is a significant gain and we all know the history of this perennial problem that has been taking place. We will continue to sustain [the measures] to make sure we can get the figures even lower than where they are now,” Vaz stated.

The minister shifted his attention from the theft of fuel to announce that the Government has progressed in its strategy to explore cheaper and a more environmentally friendly mix of fuel to power the fleet of JUTC buses.

“I am pleased to report that, of the daily run-out of 250 buses by the company, 120 of them are powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and the others by rechargeable batteries. This represents 50.4 per cent of the operable fleet. Since September 2024 it has resulted in significant fuel cost savings.”

Last year August, the Government handed over to the JUTC 100 new CNG buses which it purchased for approximately $3 billion.

Vaz announced on Tuesday that another 100 buses are scheduled to arrive in the island between June and July this year. He said that 70 of them which use CNG, will be added to the daily fleet, while the remaining 30, which are diesel units, will be used for charter purposes.

The minister added that the JUTC is preparing to commence the testing of an electric bus that uses a self-charging battery.

“It has the potential to operate over 1,500 kilometres before requiring charging and three months before requiring rapid battery recharge. This is new technology. The Government took a position that we would not go with EV [electric vehicle] buses in the first tranche of 100 buses and the second tranche of 100 buses. We knew that the technology would improve and the price would also get better. These buses will be able to run the same routes that the CNG buses run,” he said.

“This signals another option being explored by the Government to deliver eco-friendly public transportation. Like all other countries, we are moving from diesel to CNG, to electric, and once electric comes in there will be no more diesel used in the JUTC fleet, and we expect that that would be starting on the third tranche, which will be a mixture of CNG and electric buses,” Vaz said.

Some of the new buses added to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company fleet in recent months. On Tuesday, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said another 100 buses are scheduled to arrive in the island between June and July this year.