Mek Wi Talk: Taxpayers to spend $2Billion on school bus/JUTC losses climb to $18B FY year26/27

Описание: Mek Wi Talk Jamaican taxpayers to spend $2 billion on school bus/JUTC set to lose $7 billion in the financial year 2026/2027

Mek Wi Talk Jeffrey Tavares LLC

My Special guest is Mikael Phillips Opposition Spokesperson on Transport

PNP wants operational review of rural school bus programme

The Opposition People's National Party, PNP, is demanding an operational review of the government's rural school bus programme, amid news that the administration intends to purchase a hundred new units.

The new buses are being procured, despite the lower-than-expected uptake of students utilising the cashless system.

Opposition Spokesman on Transport, Mikael Phillips, says adjustments must be considered before spending $2 billion of taxpayer's money to expand the fleet.

Shaloy Smikle reports.


The rural school bus programme was launched in September last year with 110 buses.

It was a promise kept by the Holness administration amid strong criticism from the PNP.

The buses were operating free of cost up to the end of January.

The government began collecting revenue from the programme, after transitioning to a cashless system earlier this month.

But speaking at a media briefing earlier this week, Minister Vaz says despite this, the uptake has been lower than expected.

Still, he says the government will be adding 100 new buses to its fleet.

When pressed about the decision, Minister Vaz says the government is simply fulfilling its responsibility to provide transport for children.
But, that explanation is not going down well with Mikael Phillips.

In a release on Thursday, the Opposition Spokesman called for a policy statement before further purchases are made.


As it stands, approximately 16000 students are using the buses.

Just over 8000 students have registered for the cashless system.

Phillips says the report is disappointing.









The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited is expected to end the new fiscal year with a loss of $6.97 billion.
Billions of tax dollars will again be pumped into the cash-strapped Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) for the 2025-2026 financial year as the state-owned entity is projecting an operating loss of about $13.84 billion and a total loss of nearly $18 billion before a government grant is taken into consideration.

With an allocation of little more than approximately $10.964 billion in government grant, the JUTC is expected to end the new fiscal year with a loss of $6.97 billion.

For years, the company has been plagued by fuel theft, a problem the management has committed to bring to an end.

In the Jamaica Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2025-2026, the Government says the state-owned bus company will seek to improve operational efficiency and expand its reach through increasing its fleet and expanding its routes.

Another major state-owned body, the National Water Commission (NWC), is projecting a deficit of nearly $1.9 billion for the new financial year.

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