Rural bus service hailed as 'win win' for all as Vaz defends fleet of 110 used buses
Published:Wednesday | July 9, 2025 | 12:24 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter -
While in agreement with Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, that the National Rural Bus Service will be a win win for all, Egerton Newman, president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), says the Government must not forget 60 years of goods deeds carried out by members of his and similar organisations
Newman was speaking with The Gleaner immediately after a press conference called by Vaz yesterday at the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transports offices in St Andrew.
He said the system would not totally end the need for private operators to carry children.
“Don’t forget, we will, as private operators continue to carry school children because there are areas that the buses will not be able to go so we are still there. Not only that, it will reduce the load on us [and result in] an organised system and, of course, we are expecting that the Government will look at us and tell us 'thanks' for our 60 years of services and, of course, assist us, those transport [operators] who will still carry students, assist us in some way to ensure that our vehicles are up to date and we [are] properly trained to continue service in public transport,” Newman said.
He said the rural school bus service is a welcomed move by the Government of Jamaica and Vaz.
“We welcome it, the public transport sector welcome it. Yes, he mentioned a win win, now there are some technicalities there but one thing we know the children of Jamaica who we have been carrying for over six decades will now have a national, organised public transport service for them,” Newman said.
He said it would help private operators because they cannot charge $30 and $50 within 12 and 13 miles.
"Therefore, we are happy for this, that after decades, we now have a chance and the problems we have with civil society accusing and abusing private operators, this will reduce. Most importantly, that the school and government now have majority responsibility to ensure that children move from home to school in an organised and safe manner,” Newman said.
Students will pay $50 per trip on the rural bus system.
Vaz said the current system, in relation to school children, is unfair and inequitable as adults pay 'X' and children pay 'Y' and the transport operators are obliged by their licence to carry school children at the prescribed fare.
“That is simply the reason why the call in the morning is 'No schoolaz'. The Government is mindful of this to the public transport operators. We are partnering with them to allow for them to be able to earn maximum. The Opposition is trying to put a divide between transport operators and the Government,” Vaz said.
Vaz, during the press briefing, said the rural school bus service has safety, security and convenience as its priority.
“The system is aimed at addressing the significant inconvenience and danger faced by our children when they travel to and from school. It will also help to address high transportation costs faced by parents which many times causes them to have to decide which child they send to school on a particular day,” Vaz said, adding that it would improve the academic performance of students.
Vaz was armed with data to show how many children have been killed in fatal collisions from 2022 to present.
The data shows that 68 children were killed on the nation's roadways. These include seven deaths so far in 2025, 24 in 2024, 18 in 2023, and 19 in 2022.
A pilot for the Rural School Bus Service was recently conducted in Portland, where Vaz and his wife Ann-Marie Vaz, are the members of parliament.
The Government's plan is for an official phased implementation, commencing in September 2025.
Vaz said the Government spent $1.4 billion to secure 110 buses, 100 of which are part of the planned rollout, and the other 10 will be kept in reserve to be deployed if an issue arises with any of the buses in operation.
The cost also covers other components of the buy to include shipment, servicing and parts.
Vaz said the average age of the buses is between eight and 10 years with mileage between 60,000 and 170,000.
The minister said the buses have 80 per cent of their mechanical life left.
“We did not buy these buses based on pictures,” Vaz said, adding that a team of technocrats was sent to the United States.
The buses, according to the transport minister, are gold standard Thomas-built and Blue Bird school buses, two of the most desirable school bus brands in North America.
He said Jamaica was lucky to have secured 110, beating out other countries.
He described the “old buses” and “kill off our children” utterances of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) as "absolute rubbish".
In a release yesterday, the PNP however said it reaffirmed support for the rural transport system for students but, during the press conference, Vaz said it was not worth the paper it was printed on.
Mikael Phillips, opposition spokesperson on transport, said, “We support the vision of a rural school bus system. But what we oppose is the reckless manner in which the Government is going about its implementation, importing decommissioned buses that were taken out of service abroad and are not designed for Jamaica’s terrain or operating conditions.”