By Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner WriterON TUESDAY, March 25, 1947, the House of Representatives passed a Bill, authorising the establishment of a new transportation system for the Corporate Area.
Passage of the Bill was preceded by a lengthy debate on the motion supporting the terms of the licence that would be granted under the law.
The 20-year operating licence was to be granted to Jamaica Utilities Limited "for the operation of a public passenger service in the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew".
The members generally supported the idea of creating a new bus service, but there were some reservations.
Gideon Gallimore was unhappy about the pending removal of the tramway system, a reliable transport, he described it, which he was not certain would be replaced by an equally reliable system, at least in the short-term.
Iris Collins recommended that special buses be provided in the system for market vendors and school children.
The treatment of school children by the existing bus operators turned out to be a matter of concern for several members. Isaac Barrant related to the House a recent personal experience. He told his colleagues about a student who had been standing at a bus stop on Duke Street awaiting a bus to take her to an examination centre so she could do her exam. But he said the bus crew refused to take her, and she would have missed her exam, had he not given her a lift.
TRANSFORMING THE SERVICE
Clifford Campbell (Provisional Minister) described the existing situation as 'ramshackle', with buses 'that are just like cattle trucks'.
But he was in no doubt about the prospects for a good transportation system emerging from the new franchise. "We are going to transform that service and put decent buses on the road; buses that will avoid the over-crowding of the present time, and that will avoid the discomfort the travelling public is subjected to," he promised.
The 20-year duration of the monopoly licence was a matter of concern for some members. Iris Collins worried about the possibility that this monopoly operator could fail to deliver the high quality service anticipated. She therefore suggested that an auxiliary service be retained 'in the event of anything happening'.
Dr. Ivan Lloyd was of the opinion that 10 years would be quite adequate for the start-up company to be placed on a firm financial footing before facing the possibility of competition.
Then there was the question of the bus fares. Hugh Cork described as far too high the fare of three pence for adults and one and a half pence for children.
Frank Pixley, Minister for Social Welfare, who piloted the Bill, was adamant however that the 20-year franchise was more than reasonable. With a capital investment of 375 pounds, and projected net profit of 3.2 per cent per annum, he said that it would actually take the company 30 years to recoup its investment.
After careful examination of the various clauses off the bill, in Committee, it was eventually passed, laying the groundwork for the establishment of the new transportation system.
