MINISTER of Transport Daryl Vaz is expressing confidence that Jamaicans will have less wait time when 63 new buses are added to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) fleet shortly.

Speaking after the arrival of the new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses at Kingston Wharves on Thursday, Vaz said this milestone represents another major step in the Government’s continued efforts to modernise and strengthen the public transportation system.

According to Vaz, when he was named transport minister in 2023, people were waiting up to two and a half hours for a JUTC bus, and he mandated that this should be reduced significantly.

Vaz said with the new buses, meeting this goal is one step closer. He also pointed out that initially 70 buses should have arrived Thursday; however, seven are being retrofitted for the disabled community and will now arrive in August.

“Each of these 70 buses can carry 80 persons, that is the manufacturer’s specs — between standing and seated. Each bus will do an average of six trips per day, that’s 480 passengers per bus, per day. When you multiply that by 70 you get 33,600 passengers per day.

“So what I am saying is that… apart from what JUTC is transporting now on a daily basis, 70 buses increase capacity for another 33,000 passengers. That is progress,” added Vaz as he pointed out that the buses come with provisions for seated passengers to charge their electronic devices.

The transport minister reiterated a claim he made in the House of Representatives on Tuesday that the new buses will allow the JUTC to expand routes, introduce new routes, and bring down the wait time for passengers.

In his statement to the House Vaz said when he was assigned the portfolio by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, he assessed the state of the transport sector and what stood out was that the misery index was extremely high and the customer satisfaction levels were unacceptable.

“Long waits, unreliable buses, insufficient transport and inequity in service plagued the transportation sector among other issues,” said Vaz.

“I committed to the Jamaican people that within six months I would show results and bring about real change in the transport sector. Since becoming minister we have reduced the misery index significantly,” added Vaz.

He noted that with the new CNG buses arriving in the island, formal approval has been granted for the construction of a CNG bus refuelling facility at the JUTC’s Spanish Town Bus Depot.

“This initiative is part of the national strategy to transition to cleaner, more sustainable transportation solutions and to support the growing number of CNG-powered buses within the JUTC’s fleet,” said Vaz.

“This new refuelling facility is a critical infrastructure development that will enable the efficient servicing and operation of CNG buses assigned to the Spanish Town Depot. Construction is currently underway and is scheduled for completion by August 2025. Upon commissioning, the facility will significantly reduce the operational dependency on the Portmore Depot for CNG refuelling and will improve overall logistical efficiency in fleet management,” added Vaz.

JUTC outlines routes to get additional buses

According to JUTC, in line with its commuter-first approach, several routes have been identified for improved service based on feedback from the public and detailed performance analysis. These include:

• Route 3 – Christian Gardens to Downtown via Waterford

• Route 3A – Christian Gardens to Half-Way-Tree via Waterford

• Route 8 – Naggo Head to Downtown via Westchester

• Route 12 – Naggo Head to Downtown via Cumberland

• Route 16 – Greater Portmore to Downtown via Crossroads

• Route 20 – Greater Portmore to Downtown via Portmore Pines

• Route 20A – Greater Portmore to Half-Way-Tree via Portmore Pines

• Route 50A – Seaview Gardens to Downtown Via Marcus Garvey Drive

• Route 50B – Seaview Gardens to Downtown via Spanish Town Road

• Route 75 – Ferry to Papine

• Route 47 – Chancery Street to Downtown via Molynes Road

• Route 61 – Gordon Town to Downtown

• Route 22 – Spanish Town to Downtown via Spanish Town Road

• Route 31 – Chancery Street to Downtown via Spanish Town Road