Dedicated rural bus system rolls out this September
/ Our Today
administrator
The government will be rolling out its dedicated rural bus system this September in time for the start of the new school year.
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who made the announcement during his Budget Debate presentation Thursday evening, disclosed that this will be done on a phased basis with the public bus company, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) now travelling to rural parishes such as St Thomas and Clarendon.
He announced that the bus fleet will be boosted with the arrival of 12 forty-five seater buses, which will be added to the existing 22 fleet in Montego Bay. This will increase the fleet of rural buses in the second city to 22.
Dr Holness told the parliament that phase two of the dedicated rural bus system will see the deployment of 100 fully refurbished JUTC buses across parishes for the start of the new school year.
This will be supplemented by a further 40 for January next year. According to the Prime Minister, “The buses will be refurbished and the speed will be governed meaning it won’t be able to drive above a certain speed to ensure the safety of the children.”
In addition, cameras will be placed on the buses for safety. As such, the rural bus service will be more reliable and affordable for students, quipping, “Others talk about it but we do it.”
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