Transport Minister Daryl Vaz on Tuesday lambasted the Opposition for claiming that buses being brought in from the United States for the rural school bus system are retired and unsafe.

According to Vaz, the handpicked units are the “gold standard of American-made school buses”, are “fully functional and fit for purpose”, and “have at least 80 per cent of their mechanical life left” .

Vaz also said that the buses “will have unparalleled protection for children and adult passengers alike”.

“Additionally, it is important to note that the rural school bus programme has a dedicated Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) team that inspects the school buses purchased from America to ensure their safety, reliability, comfort, and annual maintenance cost,” Vaz, who also holds the energy portfolio, told journalists during a press briefing at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica auditorium in St Andrew.

According to the transport minister, research and vigorous testing were conducted ahead of the purchase of the buses, 100 of which will be put into the system immediately while an additional 10 will be kept back as contingency. He said the buses will easily serve students for another 10 to 15 years before any major overhaul on engines and transmissions will be needed.

“We did not buy buses based on pictures. We sent a team from the JUTC along with the supplier to go and inspect and select the buses that we deemed and thought suitable for Jamaica. Therefore, the units are inspected by both overseas and local experts whose confirmation of them meeting the required standard is obtained prior to the admission of a bus to our fleet. Our children’s safety is our number one priority,” Vaz said.

He said the Thomas-built and Bluebird buses, which are among the most desirable brands in North America and other regions “are designed to handle the most rugged driving conditions, whether in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean”.

He was firm that the programme remains on track for roll-out come September 2025 for approximately 7,500 students in 258 schools islandwide.

According to Vaz, a total of 110 buses will be here by the end of July.

He said among the batch of buses will be 47 small 32-seater units with engines designed to navigate remote areas; 38 midsize buses which have 54 seats; and 25 buses designed to seat 72 people each.

“So the configuration is three different types of buses obviously because of the assessment of the terrain that we will be traversing,” the transport minister said, while asserting that the Administration has every intention of expanding the programme.

“I gave a commitment that I will also reiterate: The current activity represents phase one of the system. We intend, within two years, to import an additional 200 to 300 buses to serve the additional 625 schools with a student population of over 300,000. It is the intention of the Government to actively pursue the possibility of the introduction of not only refurbished buses but also new buses as we are doing for the JUTC. This Government and this minister will deliver on his commitment to put in place a safe, affordable and convenient system which provides quality service to our children and reduces cost to parents,” he added.

Vaz dismissed as “wicked” and “evil”, statements from the Opposition that the buses “are being brought in to kill off Jamaican pickney”, saying “it is simply bad mind on steroids”.

“I wish to categorically reject these allegations as false, reckless, and a desperate attempt to use our children to attain power at any and all costs. This must never be forgotten and they must be judged and rejected out of hand for these wicked and evil thoughts,” Vaz said.

He said the average age of the buses being purchased is 10 years, with some being as low as eight years, compared to the official average age of 14 years of registered motor cars and 18 years of registered buses currently in the island’s public transport system.

“Furthermore, the buses under the rural school bus system generally have way less mileage and a better maintenance history compared to what exists in the wider registered public transportation system. The average mileage on the buses being brought in is approximately 135,000 miles with some having as low as 70,000 miles,” Vaz said.

“The comments from the Opposition and the data I have outlined confirm that the Opposition’s objection to the rural school bus system is not based on principle [they are] dishonest and should be firmly rejected,” he said.

“The suggestion that discarded, previously immobile buses were purchased are false. The buses purchased have at least 80 per cent of their mechanical life left and are fully functional,” Vaz declared.

“This is why I say, without fear of contradiction, that it is not only good for safety but it is indeed excellent value for money,” he said of the $1.4 billion spent to purchase and retrofit the buses inclusive of one year of spare parts and a one year maintenance contract with the suppliers.

He noted that the buses are fitted with technology which will allow officials to track their routes and watch the conduct of the drivers, but will also allow parents to track their children.

“There’s a specific camera that is focused on the driver to make sure that he is conducting himself in a way that is suitable to transport children, along with a cashless fare system where the students will swipe a card on entry and swipe a card on exit, allowing for the schools to know which children are on which bus and parents to also know which child or which of their children is on which bus. I cannot think of anything more that we could do to make sure that we tick all the boxes for this transformative policy,” the transport minister said.

He said all the buses will be taken on all of the assigned routes in all parishes by the end of this month to ensure that their induction come September will be “seamless”.

Addressing the Opposition’s claims about terrain, Vaz said the 52 states in the USA have higher hills and valleys and terrain similar to Jamaica, “so anything that it can do in the United States of America, it can do in Jamaica”.

He also dismissed the argument about the length of the buses, saying it is no different to what obtains in Jamaica with trucks and other buses.

“We know the specifications and sizes so we know which routes to put them on. The bigger buses will deal with the major thoroughfares, the smaller ones will go into the interior, hence why you have almost 50 per cent of the 110 buses being the 32-seaters,” Vaz explained.

“This is something that JUTC and Ministry of Education and the transport ministry have gone through with a fine-tooth comb,” he said, adding that the buses will include speed limiters to make sure that they cannot go past a certain speed, and geo fencing to make sure that they do not come off of the designated routes.

Noting statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force which show that between 2012 and this year, 68 children have died on the nation’s roads and 726 injured during the same period in crashes, many of which have been attributed to reckless driving, Vaz said, “We cannot allow history to keep repeating itself. I urge all well-thinking Jamaicans not to allow the Opposition to again derail a well-thought-out programme which is intended to bring safety, security and convenience to our children, reduced costs, and peace of mind of our Jamaican families.”