Sat | Apr 4, 2026

PPV operators will have a place in rural school bus service

Published:Friday | April 11, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (second left) listens as Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Minister, Daryl Vaz (right), gives a detailed overview of the components of a bus to be utilised in the dedicated rural school bus system, at the Of
Contributed
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (second left) listens as Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Minister, Daryl Vaz (right), gives a detailed overview of the components of a bus to be utilised in the dedicated rural school bus system, at the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday. Others are Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Senator Aubyn Hill; and Education, Skills, Youth and Information Minister, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon.

Public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators will have a role to play in the dedicated school bus system being put in place by the Government.

A total of 100 school buses are being procured this year, which will be retrofitted to better manage the Jamaican terrain. The first units will arrive in time for the start of the new academic year in September 2025.

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz, said the Government will be seeking to work with PPV operators to address any gaps while the service is being built out.

He was speaking at Jamaica House on April 7, where one of the retrofitted buses was on display.

He noted that initially, the units will ply routes on the main thoroughfares, and children will need to be transported from their districts to the main bus routes.

As such, he said, the PPV drivers who operate in these districts will have the opportunity to transport the students for a shorter distance.

“I will meet with the stakeholders in the public transport sector to explain to them, and we will come up with a plan,” he said

Minister Vaz explained that initially, the ministry had looked at the option of using the existing public transport operators in the school bus system and “pay them the price being charged for adults by subsidisng the fares, but it is just not affordable”.

He noted, however, that “we will find a way to integrate a proper rural bus system using the stakeholders and the Government partnering in the best interest of our children”.