Relief for East Portland students

EAST PORTLAND:

East Portland Member of Parliament (MP), Ann Marie Vaz, told Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters at a meeting Sunday night that two school buses have been procured to ease the burden on students travelling long distances to school.

The MP, who was addressing JLP supporters at a combined constituency conference at the Port Antonio High School, stated that for far too long students have been finding it increasingly difficult to find reliable and affordable public passenger vehicles to transport them to and from school on time.

Vaz, who is seeking a third term as MP, argued further that many parents across the constituencies of East and West Portland find it difficult to provide money for transportation and lunch, alongside ensuring that their children get the best quality education available.

“I want to say to you that because of my commitment and knowing the pain of walking, we have procured two school buses for East Portland children,” Vaz said.

“The buses will be paid for and maintained by the private sector. We will be having a meeting with the Ministry of Education to work it out, because the bus will be transporting children from Windsor Castle (West Portland) and Hector’s River …. Hector’s River to Port Antonio and then we are going to secure smaller buses for sections of Buff Bay and Mill Bank,”she added.

Vaz said that each bus will be able to carry 75 students per trip. She said this will be the first step to ultimately eliminating the plight facing students, who in some instances, have to be on the road from as early as 5am to get to school.

For several decades, reports have surfaced that students living in deep rural and remote areas of the parish of Portland were finding it difficult to get to school on time due to a shortage of public transportation. Areas of concern include those living in Hectors River, Windsor Castle, Fellowship, Mill Bank, Commodore, Long Bay, Fruitful Vale, Mount Pleasant, Manchioneal, and Rural Hill, The situation was further compounded by the refusal of some public passenger operators to transport students.

Additionally, the MP pointed out that the issue of bad roads, and (poor surface conditions) along the main thoroughfare, which previously forced some public transport operators to withdraw their service to certain areas is now a thing of the past.

She said that the main roads from Hector’s River to Port Antonio, for the most part, have undergone major rehabilitation through the Southern Coastal highway project.

It is against that background that the MP said that the buses have been procured at the right time, which will allow them to travel on a much improved road surface, over long distances.