Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Managing Director Owen Ellington has sought to allay fears among private-public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators, insisting that the company’s expanded rural services are not designed to compete but rather to create new economic opportunities for the transport sector.

Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, Ellington rejected claims that the JUTC’s growing presence in rural Jamaica would edge out taxis and other private operators.

Instead, he argued that the State-run entity is targeting previously unserved commuters and encouraging greater mobility into key economic centres like Kingston.

“I want to stress here — because concerns have been raised that the JUTC, by expanding its services out in rural parishes, is competing unfairly with privately owned public passenger operators — this is not correct,” Ellington said.

He pointed to the disparity in fleet size between the Government-owned bus service and private operators as clear evidence that displacement is not possible.

“There are well over 35,000 public passenger vehicles licensed to operate in Jamaica. Of that number, the JUTC has just about 250 to 300 buses operating. There is no way that 300 buses, maximum seating capacity of 55, can displace 35,000 operators in the system,” he noted.

Rather than dividing the market, Ellington believes the JUTC’s rural roll-out is creating new business by increasing travel demand in underserved areas.

“We are finding new individuals to travel who would not be travelling regularly previously because of the lack of a safe, reliable, comfortable, predictable, and affordable transportation mode, and we are actually encouraging rural folks to travel more into Kingston where they can take advantage of opportunities that are not available in their parishes of residence and which it would be uneconomical for them to pursue using existing modalities,” he said.

Furthermore, Ellington suggested that the bus service could have a direct spillover effect on local PPV operators, especially in rural townships.

“One bus load, 55-seater, brought into a rural township can immediately create transport opportunities for 20 cars. So what I urge privately owned PPV operators to do is to observe, look at the opportunities being created, embrace the model being rolled out by the JUTC, and see how you can partner with us to grow the service, expand opportunities for travelling Jamaicans, and at the same time build up the market in your locality so that you can continue to run vital enterprises out there whilst we serve the common purpose of moving our fellow Jamaicans in safety, in comfort, and in a way that is affordable to those at the lowest level of income,” he explained.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who also addressed the news conference, echoed Ellington’s sentiments, saying that Government-led transport initiatives, particularly the Rural School Bus Programme, were not conceived to rival the private sector, but to strengthen the overall system.

“I want to make it unequivocally clear that the rural school bus is not intended to compete with the public passenger vehicles. On the contrary, the initiative has been carefully designed to complement and support the existing transport ecosystem,” Vaz stated.

He explained that the subsidised service will primarily target schoolchildren, reducing pressure on PPV operators during peak travel times while improving safety and reliability for students.

He noted that this approach allows PPV operators to focus on fare-paying adult passengers, enhancing their earning potential while ensuring a more organised transport structure.

“This is a win-win approach. Students benefit from safe, reliable, and accessible school transport, and transport operators enjoy increased earnings and reduce congestion on popular routes… The days of schoolchildren competing with the adults for seats, the days of students being told ‘no schoolers’ [and] are being subjected to harassment and abuse must come to an end, and for this reason this minister will not relent on ensuring that the rural school bus system is ready for full commencement at the start of September,” he said.

The first phase of the Rural School Bus Programme will target 250 schools.

However, Vaz gave the assurance that existing transport providers will not be pushed out.

“Existing private transport operators who have been working with the Ministry of Education for many years while there was no policy in place will not be displaced. They have made several investments, millions of dollars. I met one operator who has 25 vehicles servicing schools with children on the PATH (Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education) and we are only doing 250 schools at the start, so there are many, many more schools,” he stated.

Vaz stressed that the long-term vision is rooted in collaboration and incremental growth rather than abrupt policy shifts.

“Collaboration and consensus are what I believe in and I have no intention of putting those businesses at risk because of the implementation of a policy… We will partner to make sure that we can even expand further than what the first phase could do, and we are committed to building a transport system that is inclusive, efficient, and economically empowering for all stakeholders,” Vaz said.