86 Kingston students accommodated as part of rural school bus service—PIOJ

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Although it is described as a designated National Rural School Bus Service, at least 86 students in Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston, utilised the subsidised service on a daily basis since it was launched in September 2025. This is revealed in the 2025 edition of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, a publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). The survey found that of the nearly 13,000 students registered under the National Rural School Bus Service, Manchester parish with 2,934 had most students utilising the service.

Portland was next with 2640, followed by St Ann with 2,374 and St James with 1,717 rounding out the top parishes. St Catherine parish had 1,265 students riding the buses, Clarendon 461, St Mary 354, Hanover 231, St Thomas 212, St Elizabeth 203 and Westmoreland 197. St Andrew parish had 112 students utlising the service, there were 86 students in Kingston and just 50 in Trelawny.

According to the survey, 12,836 students from 514 schools were registered for the service. PIOJ said 349 schools were benefitting from 86 activated routes. Significantly, there was an 80 per cent improvement in attendance and a 90 per cent improvement in punctuality among students who made use of the service according to PIOJ.

At the primary school level where 3,970 students were signed up, usage was highest among those in grade 6 where 853 utilised the service. It was lowest among those in grade 2 where 530 rode the buses. Among the 8,191 secondary level students who signed up, only 70 grade 13 students rode the buses.

Usage was highest among grade 7 students where 2,283 actively utilised the service. The survey found that there were 677 “unclassified” students who were accommodated on the buses. PIOJ described the service as “a flagship initiative established in September 2025, through a joint collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport and Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, to provide safe, reliable, and affordable transportation for students living in rural communities”.

“The programme seeks to support regular school attendance, punctuality and equitable access to education across Jamaica,” it added. PIOJ said the programme targeted 258 schools across all 14 parishes, with 110 buses deployed during the year, providing students with subsidised transportation.