KINGSTON, Jamaica – On Wednesday, Daryl Vaz, the Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications, and Transport, announced that a fleet of 300 buses will be introduced at the beginning of the new academic year. This initiative aims to alleviate passenger frustration and reduce waiting times.

“I thought it prudent to give a brief update, especially in relation to the transport arrangements for back-to-school, because obviously, that would be a critical part of a successful return to school for September morning,” Vaz said.

“So, as of right now, based on emergency procurement of spare parts, we have been able to rehabilitate and restore 125 buses, which gives us 265 buses without the 50 new buses. With the 50 new buses, we will have 315 buses on the road for back to school,” Vaz added.

Vaz was addressing a Post Cabinet Press Briefing at Jamaica House.

Earlier this year, during his contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, then Minister of Transport and Mining Audley Shaw disclosed that 45 diesel and five electric buses would be added to the JUTC fleet by the end of May.

Shaw had also stated that 20 compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled units would also be added to the fleet under a joint arrangement with private-sector partners by September.

On August 25, 50 buses were unloaded at the Kingston Wharves.

READ: 50 JUTC buses arrive at Kingston Wharves ahead of new school year

“You will recall that we had the 50 buses arrive in Jamaica last week Friday, and I’m pleased to say that we were able to clear them on the weekend, and we are now in the process this morning of licensing them for them to be able to go out for the weekend to various depots to be available for Monday morning,” Vaz said.

He added that public passenger frustrations will be alleviated in the process.

“We were at a rollout of 140 buses up to a few weeks ago. Obviously, the optimum is about 400 buses, so you can understand the frustrations of public passengers… This will alleviate a lot of the frustration and of course, the waiting time, which has been up to two and a half hours for certain routes,” the Transport Minister noted.

The new bus allocations are as follows:

Portmore Depot:

The total allocation for Portmore Depot back-to-school is 120 units consisting of active, rehab, and new buses (334 seaters disabled units, 17 49-seater regular units, and a total of 20 new units).

Spanish Town Depot:

The Spanish Town Depot will receive a total allotment of 99 units consisting of active, rehab, and new buses (two 34-seater disabled units and 15 regular 49-seater units).

Rockfort Depot:

For the Rockfort Depot, there will be a total allocation of 96 units, which includes active, rehab, and new buses (five 34-seat BEB buses and eight 49-seater buses).