PORT ANTONIO, Portland — A Titchfield High School student who survived a crash last year alighted the first of 11 buses that will offer Portland’s first-ever State-run school bus service on Monday expressing relief.

“I feel safe, I’m happy,” Renicka Silvera said shyly.

“I am very relieved knowing that there is safe transportation going to school,” she added.

In May last year Silvera was among several students in a taxi that collided with a parked motor truck on the Blueberry Hill main road in the Buff Bay area of the parish. Two students died and all the others were injured.

On Monday, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz, who is also Member of Parliament for Portland Western, said the crash was one of the triggers that pushed him to launch the school bus system. The other 10 buses are expected to be in place by September.

“Today’s launch is about more than buses; it’s restoring hope, ensuring safety, and offering equity and access to education. It was born out of the tragedy of two accidents — one in Black Hill and the other at White Rock [in] Buff Bay,” he said. “We are going to do four buses and the Ministry of Education seven, so Portland will have 11, and this will be a game changer. Buses will go into the nooks and crannies of the parish,” Vaz said.

According to the transport minister, in observance of Child Month, students will ride free in May and after that they will pay $30 — the same fare that applies to their peers in Kingston. Many Portland students now pay about $300 per day to travel by taxi.

On Monday, several of them used the school bus to travel from Buff Bay to Titchfield and Port Antonio high schools.

Titchfield High Principal Richard Thompson was almost moved to tears as he saw his young charges getting off the bus.

“This is welcome, and I will encourage my students and parents to use the bus system. We lost a few students — Panjal Jasti in 2019 and then, last year, two of our students sadly passed in accidents,” he pointed out.

Director of the Safety and Security in Schools Unit in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Richard Troupe hailed the launch as “a significant milestone”.

“This pilot project is one of four vehicles that will be committed to serve this space by the two members of Parliament, the Vazes, to improve transportation. They have committed four vehicles, and this should have started in September. We will replicate the model: 100 vehicles to be retrofitted to be deployed to 100 schools in 13 parishes. The Ministry of Education is committed to this project,” he assured.

Troupe encouraged students to be on time, behave, and take care of the bus.

Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern Ann-Marie Vaz expressed gratitude to those who helped make the project possible.

“I am overjoyed today to see this becoming a reality, and I want to thank my donors. This is providing safe transportation for our children, and I am encouraging our children to take care of the buses,” she said.

Port Antonio High student Colin Hinds welcomed the programme.

“This will help me to get to school early — and we don’t have to lap-up (sit in each other’s laps) and get to school late. I felt good this morning when I saw the bus… I don’t have to miss my class again,” he said.

Pickup points were Gideon and Foreshore Road in Port Antonio.

Among those at Monday’s launch of Portland’s school bus system are (from left) Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Corporate Communication Manager Shantole Thompson; Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transportation Daryl Vaz; director of the Safety and Security in Schools Unit in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Richard Troupe; principal of Titchfield High School Richard Thompson; Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern Ann-Marie Vaz; JUTC Depot Operations Manager Romain-Khade Gayle; and acting CEO of Portland Municipal Corporation Jumaane Robinson.