Public to help 'bus' school

Sheldon Williams , Gleaner Writer

In the next academic year, transportation will be made easier for one school, which will receive a new Toyota Hiace bus from Toyota Jamaica Limited through its Bus Di School competition.

The high roof model, which seats 16 people, is valued at $6 million. The bus will be branded with the winning school's name, along with proof of sponsorship by Toyota Jamaica.

Principals of primary and high schools which are registered with the Ministry of Education have been invited to submit an application letter by Monday, June 30, detailing why their school deserves the bus.

Applications may be sent via email to marketing@toyotajamaica.com or delivered to

Toyota Jamaica at 427 Spanish Town Road, Kingston 11, or Toyota Jamaica Montego Bay, Lot 1200, Ironshore Industrial Estate, Montego Bay.

The public will have a say in which school puts a driver behind the Hiace's steering wheel. Explaining the assessment process, Tracy-Ann Fletcher, assistant marketing manager at Toyota Jamaica, said application letters will first be reviewed by a specially appointed committee, comprising senior executives and staff members of Toyota Jamaica.

Fletcher said the committee will select the top 10 entries "... by looking at the school's profile, location, number of the students enrolled and, most important, the reason why the specific school needs a school bus."

The top 10 will then be uploaded to Toyota Jamaica Limited's Facebook page for a public vote, which will account for 20 per cent of the overall scoring. A final stage of the judging process by representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth and Culture, private-sector leaders and Toyota Jamaica's managing director will account for 80 per cent of the assessment.

THE RIGHT LOOK

"The final judging panel will be looking for creativity in presentation, specific details for the use and/or need for such a bus, and the school's profile," Fletcher.

As part of the prize package, one year's insurance will be provided by Jamaica National General Insurance. A year's licence and registration is also included and scheduled maintenance up to 30,000 kilometres, inclusive of labour and parts, will also be provided for a year.

A restriction is that the vehicle cannot be sold, transferred or sublet for one year. Toyota Jamaica and Jamaica National General Insurance also reserve the right to use promotional photographs of the winning school's representatives.

Fletcher explained that the company felt obligated to make a valuable contribution to the education sector, and so the bus donation through competition was conceptualised.

"Our managing director, Tom Connor, decided to assist the education sector this year as a part of our corporate social responsibility. He thought it would be great to assist this industry, as we have already made contributions to the agriculture sector in the past years. Mr Connor believes that the education sector is one that is in need of assistance, and believes that making transportation easier for at least one lucky school would be a great start," she said.

Fletcher said the number of entries continues to grow. "We have seen a steady flow of entries from the start of the programme, mostly from schools outside of the Kingston area. However, we do believe that the bulk of entries will be seen closer to the end of the competition, as schools are busy putting their proposals together," she said.

Obviously, demand will far outstrip supply, Fletcher saying "At the end of the day, Toyota Jamaica would love to help every school which has entered for the Hiace bus. However, that's not possible."

The winning school will be announced in the press and on Facebook, and the bus will be handed over in September or October this year.