John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Transport is spending just over $1 billion to acquire 50 luxury buses to boost the fleet of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), which will be rolling out a shuttle service for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The new luxury buses, which are fully air conditioned and will be able to accommodate 40 persons seated, have been acquired for ?14 million ($1.162 billion). So far, 24 of the buses have arrived in the island. The remaining 26 are expected in the island by the end of March.

In the meantime, the state-owned bus company is in the process of refurbishing other buses to complement the fleet that will be offering the special services during the World Cup.

Premium shuttle service

Gwyneth Davidson, public relations and marketing manager of the JUTC, said the company will be offering a premium shuttle service from Kingston to the opening ceremony of the CWC on March 11, as well as the practice match between the West Indies and India on March 9. She said it will cost $2,000 per person and does not include the cost for parking at the boarding point in Kingston or entry to the matches in Trelawny.

"We are ready to take bookings and we believe, based on some tours that we did last time, that the tickets will be in demand very close to the time," Mrs. Davidson said.

The JUTC will offer a special service to accommodate persons attending matches at Sabina Park. "We are going to be looking at putting on a special municipal service that will take you from Portmore, Spanish Town, toas close as possible to the venue," said Jacqueline Darwood, manager of service planning and network development at the JUTC.

She said the buses would be specially marked and commuters would be able to board the buses at regular bus stops while they are on their way from Portmore or Spanish Town. Commuters travelling from Spanish Town for the match at Sabina Park will be left at the Jessie Ripoll Primary School on South Camp Road. Those coming from Portmore will be left at the intersection of North Street and South Camp Road.

It will cost $100 one way to travel on these buses.