Editorial | Will the JUTC buses be EVs?

It is surprising that Finance Minister Nigel Clarke’s announcement was almost en passant and that neither the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) nor anyone else in Government followed up on his disclosure of the planned acquisition of 50 new buses for the state-owned bus company during the coming fiscal year. Prime Minister Andrew Holness also did not comment on the matter in his contribution to the Budget Debate last week.

There are two critical reasons why this absence of attention is more than a little bit strange. First is the economics of the matter.

Dr Clarke did not say how much these buses will cost, but it is widely known that the technically insolvent JUTC cannot, on its own, afford them. Indeed, for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which starts on April 1, the JUTC is projected to report an operating loss of J$8.1 billion and a net loss of J$5.12 billion. That will more than double the expected net loss for the current period. However, the bottom-line deficit for 2022-23 will be after taxpayers contribute J$5.43 billion in subsidies. In other words, without the finance ministry’s support, the JUTC’s loss would be over J$10.55 billion.

Indeed, Dr Clarke suggested that the 50 buses would be paid for out of a J$5.3-billion “contingency fund” he has put aside to “fund public investment pipeline projects, which are expected to gain Cabinet approval before the end of fiscal year”. The issue, however, is that Dr Clarke’s pipeline – or the projects therein – seems lengthy for the cash he has to spend. And neither is the cost of buses nor where they are in the queue of priorities public information.

TRANSITION TO EVs

That, though, does not impede the necessary second plank of the discussion, which is about the future of Jamaica’s transport sector, including its transition from internal- combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to ones powered by electricity, or EVs. This should influence the kinds of vehicles that are purchased by, or for, the JUTC.

There are myriad reasons why Jamaica should be part of the global movement towards electric vehicles. None, however, is more compelling than global warming and climate change and the dangers they pose to small island nations like ours. We are already feeling the effects of not just a hotter climate, but more frequent and longer droughts and increasingly unpredictable and violent storms. Rising sea levels will also threaten our coastal cities and key economic infrastructure.

ICE vehicles emit a significant portion of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. For instance, globally, road transportation spews around six gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), or over 70 per cent of the emissions from the world’s transport sector. Further, of the estimated 59 gigatons CO2e released in the atmosphere in 2019, approximately 14 per cent was from vehicles.

Comparatively, Jamaica’s contribution to global warming is minuscule. We, nonetheless, have a stake in supporting the reduction of greenhouse gases and, therefore, in limiting our own emissions. Reducing Jamaica’s reliance on fossil fuels, a major source of carbons is, therefore, important. Transitioning to EVs, in this regard, makes sense. Indeed, of the more than 20 million barrels of oil imported into the island – at a cost hovering at around US$1 billion in recent years – approximately a third is used for ground transportation.

And the price of oil has soared on global markets since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While Dr Clarke priced oil at an average of US$67.50 a barrel in his Budget simulations, it is now closer to US$100 per barrel. The economics of oil and climate change are converging to make a case for an accelerated rationalisation of Jamaica’s public transport sector to one based on clean and renewable fuels. Having a clean, efficient, reliable, and safe public-transportation system in which all commuters can have confidence is a policy initiative to be pursued with vigour.

STANDARD-BEARER

The JUTC, especially with respect to introducing EVs, should be the standard-bearer. Two years ago, the company, which operates in the Kingston Metropolitan Region, where over a fifth of the island’s population lives, said that it would start to test EV buses. It has said nothing about the plan since then. Hopefully, the buses announced by Finance Minister Clarke will be in partial fulfilment of this initiative.

Beyond whatever the JUTC does, the administration needs to articulate a coordinated policy for EVs and public transportation. The approach to the policy, thus far, has been disjointed and lacks inclusion.

The energy minister, Daryl Vaz, and his technocrats have said that 12 per cent of Jamaica’s transportation fleet should run on electricity by 2030, which would probably mean, based on current vehicle registrations, having around 63,000 EVs on the island’s roads by that time. What is not clear is how that policy affects public transportation, for which, at last count, there were around 31,000 registered vehicles. Neither is it clear if the cap of 1,000 EVs annually that will receive Government’s import concessions over the next five years has a special window for public transportation. There has been little engagement with the various groups that have a stake in this matter.

Audley Shaw, the new transport minister, has important questions to answer. Urgently!