Principal of Titchfield High School in Portland, Richard Thompson, is welcoming the provision of a dedicated rural school bus service for the parish.

Speaking in an interview with JIS News following the recent launch, Mr. Thompson said that the service, operated by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), will facilitate the timely, safe and efficient movement of students, including those attending Titchfield High.

He said that most students attending Titchfield High are from the Rio Grande Valley and Buff Bay Valley but noted that the school also accommodates pupils from as far away as St. Mary and St. Thomas.

He said the bus service will positively impact those students and ease some of the difficulties they experience while travelling to and from school daily.                              

“Normally, students coming in from the Buff Bay Valley must take transportation to Buff Bay Square and then another vehicle to Port Antonio, and those from the Rio Grande Valley normally find it difficult to get here and often get here late,” Thompson pointed out.

“Under this initiative, I anticipate that there’ll be an improvement in terms of punctuality to school and classes, and hopefully, we’ll see an improvement in performance,” he expressed.

Thompson told JIS News that enabling students to travel to school safely is important, particularly for the Titchfield community, which has faced the loss of students due to road accidents.    

“I have served as Principal of Titchfield since 2007, and I have had the disappointment and the anguish of having to experience and share with others the passing of at least three of our students in motor-vehicle accidents,” he shared.

He noted that the tragic incidents had prompted him to make an appeal for a safe and reliable bus service for the students.                                               

“So, this for me is an accomplishment. I witnessed my students disembarking the bus and coincidentally, one of those students, who came off the bus was also in the last accident,” he pointed out. “I asked her how she felt, and she responded with one word, ’safe’, and it is for this reason that I am happy. I know it’s a start and we look forward to the expansion of the service.”  

The Portland school bus service is part of the Rural School Bus Programme, which will improve the transportation of students across rural parishes.

The service, which operates along the Buff Bay to Port Antonio corridor via Hope Bay, will primarily serve students attending six secondary schools across the parish. These are Buff Bay High, Port Antonio High, Portland High, Titchfield High, Fair Prospect High and Happy Grove High, providing them with safe and timely access to their schools.