Thousands of high school students in the parish of Clarendon are today benefitting from the Clarendon Rural Safe School Bus Programme which was officially launched in May Pen on February 25.
Speaking at the launch last Wednesday (February 25) Transport Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, lauded the initiative for its significance in providing safe and affordable transportation for high school students in the parish.
While highlighting the multi-agency approach taken in implementing the system, he said the Clarendon Parish Council must be commended for taking such an interest in education.
Mayor of May Pen, Councillor Scean Barnswell reported that the service has seen significant improvements in school attendance and punctuality at beneficiary schools.
The Mayor says the system represents a marked improvement in student commute in the parish as students are now travelling in comfort and benefitting from disciplined driving, courteous operators and lower fares.
Some three-thousand-five-hundred students attending seven high schools currently benefit from the programme.
The pilot phase of the programme which was rolled out in September 2014 involved high schools in the Greater May Pen area and Phase 2 was extended to schools in the southern section of the parish on February 9.
The implementation of the programme was steered by the Clarendon Parish Council and its operations are supported by the Transport Authority, along with the Police, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company and some twelve local rural stage carriage operators.