KINGSTON, Jamaica — New inter-parish routes going as far as Montego Bay have been announced by Minister of Transport Daryl Vaz following the handover of 93 buses valued at $2.35 billion to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) on Wednesday.

Speaking at the handover ceremony held at the Portmore Bus Depot in Braeton, St Catherine, Vaz said 15 of the buses will be used to launch the JUTC “rural express service” offering premium travel on long-haul routes from Half Way Tree to Negril, Montego Bay, Port Antonio and Mandeville.

The routes will operate with minimal stops at an introductory fare of $2,000.

“We are providing competition in the government to make sure that those who can’t afford private transportation that is being offered that they have options,” Vaz said.

He described it as an honour to hand over the 63 CNG and 30 diesel vehicles.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the transportation pudding has moved from leaving a sour taste in people’s mouths to being finger-licking good,” he said.

The diesel buses will be dedicated to the long-haul rural routes and charter service, while the CNG buses will serve new routes along to Spanish Town depot corridor, including Longville, Linstead, Kitson Town, Spanish Town, and Mandeville.

The handover is the second of three phases in a 300-bus expansion plan.

Vaz explained that the buses were numbered at 93 because seven more were being specially procured for the special needs community, to arrive in August.

“The policy of the Government is that for all buses that we manufacture, 10 per cent have to be for the special needs community.”

The minister said the importation of CNG buses has also helped save money on fuel, with $174 million saved in seven months between October 2024 and April 2025.

In attendance at the event were Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Horace Chang, and Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern, Ann-Marie Vaz.

Host Debbie Bisson, who attended Clarendon College, shared her experience with rural transport as a student, saying: “Back in the day, if a little drizzle of rain fell, I would hear the drivers [say] ‘them nah drive enuh so you have to go walk it’; from Chapleton to May Pen town. As a rural girl this was my reality.”

Citing increased ridership and revenue, plus the procurement of new buses, Vaz maintained that the improvements to the JUTC’s fleet were not by accident but by design.

— Dana Malcolm

93 new buses were handed over to the JUTC on Wednesday (Photo: Public Broadcasting Corporation X account)

93 new buses were handed over to the JUTC on Wednesday (Photo: Public Broadcasting Corporation X account)