Cash done, cards only! School bus rule changes Feb 1

No student card, no bus. That is the warning from Transport Minister Daryl Vaz as he urges parents to register their children before the deadline, warning that students without the card will be barred from using the school bus.

Vaz, speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday, urged parents to ensure their children are registered and have topped up their cards ahead of the deadline.

"I want to make it very clear, that come February 1st, if you do not have a student card, and you have not topped up your student card, to pay the subsidised fare of $50, you will be going back to the old system of paying $300-$600 a day and going through the trauma of competing with the adults for transportation," Vaz said.

The transport minister noted that since the start of the school term, 82 school buses have been deployed to locations across the island. He added that additional drivers have also been recruited and trained to support the programme.

However, Vaz made it clear that cash will no longer be accepted by bus drivers starting next month.

"I want to take the opportunity to encourage parents and students who have not yet signed up for their students' transportation card, to do so now, as the drivers will not be accepting cash," he said.

Vaz also appealed for wider national support to boost registration numbers before February.

"I'm appealing to the MPs, to the councillors, to the churches, to the NGOs, to the government entities, we need to get the registration up in the month of January so that the buses will operate at optimum," he added.

Parents seeking to register their children can visit the Jamaica Urban Transit Company or access the registration form through the Ministry of Education's website and social media platforms.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon said the ministry has been working closely with school administrators and will be carrying out school-based registration of students across the island.

- Sashana Small

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