Mark Kerr-Jarrett, ContributorGiven the increasing cost of fuel and its impact on our national budget, I would like to present the following proposal which could reduce our fuel bill, according to my calculations, $3.33 billion per annum, by replacing the majority of the taxis with diesel-powered minibuses. My assumptions and calculations are as follows:
First, I chose the following vehicles for my analysis; a four-passenger Toyota Corolla, a 12-seater Urvan minibus, a 29-seater Toyota Coaster and a 40-seater Motor Bus. Then, I calculated the cost per passenger kilometre for each type of vehicle:
Therefore, if we implement a combination of these transportation options, then we can be guaranteed a substantial annual savings on our national fuel bill.
We could also make a percentage of the savings available as loans to the displaced taxi operators to upgrade to buses, and the money could be routed through the commercial banks and the new vehicles used to secure the loans.
The other question is, how do we now convince the travelling public to use the higher-occupancy vehicles, as they have become accustomed to the taxicabs. Here I would suggest that we use a fare structure to promote this by adjusting the PPV licensing fees for example:
40-seater motor bus PPV annual licensing fee = $X
Coaster bus PPV annual licensing fee = $2X
Urvan minibus PPV annual licensing fee = $3X
Taxicab PPV annual licensing fee = $4X
It will, therefore, be cheaper to ride the buses and minibuses than the taxicabs, and in that way our goal of mass transportation can be achieved.
I believe that this same principle, of replacing gasolene-powered vehicles with diesel, can be utilised with great cost savings to all aspects of government services, especially in the police force for their fleet of SUVs and other four-wheel-drive vehicles.
I am convinced that we cannot be lulled into a false sense of security or apathy because of the PetroCaribe deal, but must act decisively. And the sooner we do it the better.
Mark Kerr-Jarrett, a former president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, is managing director of Barnett Limited.
| Corolla | Urvan | Coaster | Bus |
| # pax | 4 | 12 | 29 | 40 |
| Fuel | Gas | Diesel | Diesel | Diesel |
| Miles/Gal | 26 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Km/Litre | 9.15 | 5.28 | 4.22 | 3.17 |
| $/Litre | $ 60.24 | $ 47.09 | $ 47.09 | $ 47.09 |
| $/Km | $ 6.58 | $ 8.92 | $ 11.15 | $ 14.86 |
$/Pax-Km | $ 1.65 | $ 0.74 | $ 0.38 | $ 0.37 |
Next, I made the assumption that 40,000 persons in Montego Bay and its environs travel an average of 10 kilometres daily by taxi, and if they changed to one of the other three diesel modes shown above the savings could be:
MoBay
| Fuel | Savings/pax km | Daily savings | Monthly savings | Yearly savings |
| Urvan | $ 0.90 | $ 360,931 | $ 8,301,422 | $ 99,617,074 |
| Coaster | $ 1.26 | $ 504,448 | $ 11,602,315 | $ 139,227,785 |
| Bus | $ 1.27 | $ 509,574 | $ 11,720,204 | $ 140,642,453 |
If we expand this to the national level and assume that 30 per cent of the population, which is conservative when you take into account the adults and school children, take taxi cars and we estimate the population at 2,800,000, then 840,000 people commute at least 10 kilometres daily; then the savings are as follows:
Nationally
| Fuel | Savings/pax km | Daily savings | Monthly savings | Yearly savings |
| Urvan | $ 0.90 | 7,579,560 | $ 174,329,880 | $ 2,091,958,566 |
| Coaster | $ 1.26 | 10,593,418 | $ 243,648,624 | $ 2,923,783,488 |
| Bus | $ 1.27 | 10,701,056 | $ 246,124,293 | $ 2,953,491,520 |
If we add to these fuel savings, the saving derived from the reduction in tyres used by the higher occupancy vehicles, for example for every Urvan used, this replaces three cars, therefore saving 10 tyres for every Urvan introduced, and four tyres plus one spare for each car replaced.
Assume a set of tyres lasts eight months, then the annual savings for each bus type are as follows:
| Tyres | Trips/day saved | Car trips/day | Tyres saved | $/tyre | Total savings |
| Urvan | 140,000 | 12 | 87,500 | $ 3,200 | $ 280,000,000 |
| Coaster | 181,034 | 12 | 113,147 | $ 3,200 | $ 362,068,966 |
| Bus | 189,000 | 12 | 118,125 | $ 3,200 | $ 378,000,000 |
If we combine the saving from the fuel and the tyres, the potential savings are as follows:
| Fuel | Tyres | Total |
| Urvan | $ 2,091,958,566 | $ 280,000,000 | $ 2,371,958,566 |
| Coaster | $ 2,923,783,488 | $ 362,068,966 | $ 3,285,852,454 |
| Bus | $ 2,953,491,521 | $ 378,000,000 | $ 3,331,491,521 |
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