JUTC to Use Emergency Procurement to Repair Buses for Hill Routes

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, has given approval for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) to use the emergency procurement process to rehabilitate buses that are to be dispatched on the entity’s hill routes.

These are buses within the company’s fleet that were specially ordered to operate in the hilly areas and are currently out of service while awaiting spare parts.

Minister Vaz, who made the disclosure following a tour of the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre on Monday (January 8), explained that the refurbished units will boost the fleet of specialised buses that are used to ply routes that take passengers into the hilly areas of rural St. Andrew.

These include routes 52 – downtown to Temple Hall; 53 – Half-Way Tree to Above Rocks; 53a Express – downtown Kingston to Above Rocks and 54 – Half-Way Tree to Border.

The measure is intended to be a short-term solution to ease the long wait times by commuters for buses, particularly during peak hours.

Minister Vaz, who travelled on a #53 bus and interacted with the passengers, hearing their concerns, explained that while the JUTC officials can redirect buses to alleviate lengthy wait times, this is not an option for the hill routes, as the regular buses are not suitable for those areas.

The Minister assured the passengers that efforts are far advanced on a long-term solution, which is the acquisition of the first 100 of a projected 300 buses into the island between June and September.

He explained that while his ideal timeline is June, it could be pushed back to September based on procurement requirements.

“I am trying, however, to get all of the cooperation that I can from all of the procurement entities,” he said.

“I am hoping to go to Cabinet this month and to the Public Procurement Commission, which are the last two steps for me. If we get those 100 buses, it will ease the misery index,” he noted. Minister Vaz’s tour of the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre was to observe activities following the implementation of the reduction in bus fares on January 1, 2024, with a further reduction on April 1.

The temporary measure is expected to remain in place until December 2025.

The Minister was accompanied by JUTC Managing Director, Paul Abrahams; Chairman of the Transport Authority, Owen Ellington; Managing Director of the Transport Authority, Ralston Smith; Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gary McKenzie, and other Ministry officials.