JUTC gets 12 new buses

The fleet of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has been boosted with 12 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

The buses arrived in the island on Wednesday and were cleared at Kingston wharf.

These are in addition to six buses that arrived in January.

Two more are set to arrive in May, bringing the total to 20.

In a statement today, Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said that the Government continues to make significant advancements in the country's transportation sector.

Vaz said the procurement and deployment of the new CNG buses exemplify the Government's dedication to modernising public transportation sector and alleviating some of the burdens faced by commuters.

“When you look at the 50 buses that came in last year July that were ordered under the stewardship of Minister Montague and then Minister Shaw, that was 50 buses, 45 diesel and 5 electric, that's a value of $1 billion.  These 20 CNG buses, $650 million, that would be $1.65 billion that has been returned to the people of Jamaica based on our good fiscal responsibility.”

The Government has allocated $2.6 billion for the procurement of 100 additional buses for the JUTC to improve the experience of the commuting public.

“The Minister of Finance committed to the procurement of 330 buses to be exact, so we have an additional 230 buses that are going to be ordered up to fiscal year 2026 at a cost of $4.5 billion. Total spend with the 100 buses, the 70 buses before, and the 230 buses, would be almost $10 billion to one entity to provide good transportation for the travelling public committed to by this Government. That is unbelievable, some would say,” stated Vaz.

He further emphasised the Government's continued support for the public and that the additional buses will arrive in time for the back to school period in September 2024.

 “I can confirm that the 100 buses I committed - CNG buses - are now in production. Deposits have been made and they will be in production from April 5 and May 10, which means they will leave China at the end of May and arrive here by the end of June for July and of course back to school in September. That would be 170 new buses in 18 months. 50 under the previous Ministers, and 120 in less than one year, under my stewardship.” Vaz said.

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