BUS CLASH!

WESTERN BUREAU:

There were heated exchanges among councillors at St James Municipal Corporation’s (StJMC) monthly meeting on Thursday regarding the suitability of the 110 units to be used in the Government’s rural school bus system.

The acrimonious exchanges came amid the tabling of a resolution to create a designated school zone in the vicinity of the Barracks Road Primary School in Montego Bay.

Councillor Charles Sinclair, who represents the Montego Bay North East division, said the bus system, which is being championed by Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, must be supported despite the criticisms.

“I want to highlight ... that the school buses will add to the security and safety of children,” said Sinclair. “Every vehicle that is used in Jamaica, on our roads, has to be certified by the Island Traffic Authority, so when people say the vehicles are not designed for our roads, the [regulatory] authority ensures that every vehicle is certified for our roads and our terrain.”

“When we get the school buses that are dedicated to children for $50, regardless of distance of travel, we are getting the benefit for all the children and all the parents in Jamaica,” continued Sinclair in referencing the proposed standard fare. “I am certain that come September, we will have safety and security for them to roll out the school buses.”

But Councillor Michael Troupe, the StJMC’s minority leader, who is the councillor for the Granville division, argued that the buses, which are at least 10 years old on average, would not be roadworthy beyond six months, mirroring previous criticisms from Opposition Leader Mark Golding and Opposition Senator Peter Bunting, who have been raising concerns about the suitability of the buses.

“I have invested in a wrecker service because those buses are going to be on the wrecker every day. Those buses are 15 to 16 years old, and America dumped them in a little garbage heap over there, and the Honourable Minister [Vaz] went there and bought those little old buses. They had to get a wrecker to take them off,” said Troupe.

“I do not know if you recall when this Government ordered some used vehicles, but the police can tell you that in six months, they started to break down and get on wreckers. This is the same problem that is going to happen with these buses,” argued Troupe.

In the meantime, Deputy Mayor Dwight Crawford, the councillor for the Spring Garden division, told Thursday’s meeting that the age of the anticipated school buses should not be an indicator of their potential effectiveness.

“When you are assessing a motor vehicle, you do not assess it by its age. You assess it by the amount of hours and the amount of wear on the motor vehicle,” said Crawford. “So when we are talking about how good these buses are, we need to ask the question of how many miles are on them and do a proper assessment of the kind of condition they are in, and based on the information that I am getting, those 10-year-old and 12-year-old buses are in much better condition than some 2020 public transportation vehicles that are on the road.”

chistopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com