The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is embarking on a six-month pilot project testing the country’s first public passenger electric bus in criteria including travel terrain, maintenance, routing and battery life and electricity consumption.
Paul Abrahams, managing director at the JUTC, said the electric bus that recently arrived on the island, valued US$285,000, has been provided to the JUTC for the tenure of the six-month project at no cost to the company.
The unit has a seating capacity of 35 with standing room for 20 passengers.
Abrahams pointed out that, while there is currently no contractual arrangement with the manufacturer or the local dealer, once the testing is complete, informed discussions will then be held with the Ministry of Transport and Mining on the way forward with regards to purchasing the bus.
“This basically fits into a plan to possibly try and convert the JUTC’s fleet from diesel-operated buses to a more efficient form of energy,” said Abrahams.
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