THERE was little new on offer as members of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) probed the rural school bus programme on Wednesday. Committee members largely heard familiar explanations about road conditions, route selection, and student safety, with the programme’s planned expansion and the proposal to acquire smaller, newer buses capturing most interest.

The discussion in Parliament revisited many of the same challenges that have surrounded the initiative since its roll-out, including the difficulty buses face accessing some rural communities and the reliance of students on informal transport in areas where roads remain poor.

An official of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) told the committee that while the programme has expanded access to transportation for many students, geography and road conditions continue to limit how far buses can travel into some communities.

“There are places where the buses cannot go because of road conditions, and in those circumstances, children may have to disembark the bus and find another means of transport home, whether they walk home, or they are picked up by parents or, unfortunately, resort to some other modality which was mentioned before,” managing director of the JUTC Owen Ellington told the committee.

Ellington also reiterated that the service was not intended to displace private transport operators but to work alongside them in areas where students struggle to find consistent transportation.

Committee members, however, highlighted the dangers some students still face when travelling to school in rural communities, particularly those who rely on motorcycle taxis or overcrowded vans.

Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness said the programme has been especially important in communities where organised bus services did not previously exist.

“I have seen for myself 30, 40 students packed in a little van in the back of the taxis, hanging out on a regular basis. Last year, we had an accident where children coming from Louise Bennett Coverley School and St Martin de Porres [Primary] School. I visited them at UWI Hospital [University Hospital of the West Indies] because all of them were packed in a private bus and that private bus was not even properly licensed and the driver had no driver’s licence,” she said.

Another challenge raised during the meeting was the condition of rural roads, which lawmakers said often determines whether formal transport services can operate in certain communities.

Dr Alfred Dawes, Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Eastern, noted that road infrastructure is one of the main reasons residents continue to rely on motorcycle taxis.

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Kedesha Campbell Rochester told the committee that addressing the issue will require a multi-agency approach involving transport planners, road authorities, and the education sector.

But despite the challenges, the Government is preparing to expand the programme by acquiring additional buses designed to handle more difficult terrain.

Ellington said the next phase of procurement will include smaller vehicles better suited to navigate rural roads.

“In the next tranche of buses that we intend to buy, there will be some buses that are much smaller than even the smallest one now in the fleet, and hopefully it can take children along those routes,” Ellington said.

— Jerome Williams