“We
have gotten some among the spare parts and we have ordered more, because we
have not finished with the entire fleet. We didn’t buy all of them at one time,
because you can refurbish them at about half the price…So we do them in sets”
Deputy Managing
Director, John Campbell, responding to queries at the PAAC Meeting on Wednesday
17th September 2014
Wednesday
17th September 2014 is a day in Jamaican Parliament many who follows
the ups and down of the JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Company) will not quite
forget. Especially if you’re a SDA
(Seventh Day Adventists)!
Good
to note that as of Sunday September 14th 2014, you have a
SmarterCard to travel on the JUTC Bus as stated in my blog article
entitled “JUTC
SmarterCard improves - Why JUTC faces PAAC for Operations and Lawsuits Billions
as KMTR Commuters Cashless Reprieve”. Yes, I’m STILL Boycotting the JUTC
Buses, now one year onwards.
It
is on this day that the JUTC’s Managing Director Colin Campbell and Deputy
Managing Director, John Campbell (are they related?) faced the PAAC (Public
Administration and Appropriations Committee) at Gordon House with regards to
the finances and the general running of the JUTC. This are reported in the
article “JUTC
tackling smoking buses -- MD”, published Friday, September 19, 2014 7:18 AM
By Balford Henry, Senior Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Observer.
Of
particular note was the amount of fuel the Vehicles used and why they had to be
belching black smoke, a question that was raised by Opposition MP Audley Shaw.
Interestingly, the issue gained bipartisan support when Minister of Transport,
Water, Environment and Climate Change, Robert Pickersgill pointed out that
under the Road Traffic Act, these JUTC Buses were not Roadworthy Vehicles.
It’s
interesting because I’ve heard this argument before.
JUTC Buses and the
SDA’s Comments – Buses in contravention of Road Traffic Act
This
is interesting as the SDA’s have pointed out is actually in contravention of
1938 Road Traffic Act, Section 43 (2) which imposes a JA$4000 fine for smoking
Vehicles as stated in the article “Ban smoking
cars too, say Adventists”, Published Friday June 28, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.
For
those with good memories, those statements came from the Health Ministries
Director of the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh Day Adventists Dr Milton
Gregory, a few days after the Tuesday June 25th 2013, the date when
Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson imposed the Ban on Smoking along with
fines as detailed in my blog article
entitled “Adventists
want Ban on Vehicle Pollution as Smoking Ban looms on Saturday July 15 2013 -
Dr. Fenton Ferguson's Escape Plan leads”.
On
the Friday June 28th 2013, in a Press Release from the Jamaica Union
Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, Health
Ministries Director of the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh Day Adventists
Dr Milton Gregory, pointed this issue of smoking buses in the context of the
smoking Ban, quote: “Every day, thousands of Jamaicans breathe heavily polluted
air, which is filled with poisonous vehicular smoke emissions consisting of
pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, suspended sulphates,
sulphur dioxide, nitrates, lead, dirt and soot”.
So
it seems curious back then as it is now almost a year later, that the JUTC
Buses are running in contravention of the Road Traffic Act yet a Smoking Ban
exists.
JUTC Buses can’t run on
ULSD – LPG Better for the JUTC Buses Fuel Injectors
Their
excuse?
According
to JUTC’s Managing Director Colin Campbell, the JUTC Buses are having problems
running on the ULSD (Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel) fuel that was launched by
Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining back on Monday June 24th
2013 as I’d reported in my blog article entitled
“Ministry
of Technology launches ULSD on Monday June 24th 2013 - Lower Sulphur in Diesel
open possibility of the Bio-Fuel Industry Hammer of the Gods (2013) to wean
ourselves of Imported Fuel”.
As
these JUTC Buses run on Diesel, they have no spark plugs. Instead, they use
Fuel Injectors and compression to turn the Piston inside of the Engine and more
the Bus, like any other Diesel Vehicle. But long before the ULSD came out,
these vehicles were always billowing black smoke, suggesting that whether
regular Diesel or ULSD, they’re not designed for the level of sulphur in our
Diesel.
To
this end, it would be best that they use LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) the same
fuel used for Cooking Gas that also happens to be cheaper than Diesel as
suggested in my blog
article entitled “JUTC
SmarterCard Cashless System to be implemented in the Fourth Quarter of 2013 -
Upgrade buses to use LPG Fuel to reduce Maintenance costs”.
LPG
is a gas so it burns more cleanly as described in my Geezam blog
article entitled “Auto
LPG as a Motor Vehicle Fuel”. It has the same energy content
as Diesel and because it already a gas, it’s more efficient in how that energy
is released during combustion in the Diesel Engine’s Cylinders.
Most
importantly, it would prevent the incidence of JUTC Bus fires as again explained
in my blog
article entitled “JUTC
SmarterCard Cashless System to be implemented in the Fourth Quarter of 2013 -
Upgrade buses to use LPG Fuel to reduce Maintenance costs”. This is either
deliberately set or from arson, as if the pressure is too low, a JUTC Bus
running on LPG will not start, making it difficult for anyone to rig the buses
to catch afire unless they use an incendiary device.
So
will the JUTC make the switch the LPG now that it’s obvious their fuel saving
measures will be for naught as replacing or modifying damaged Fuel Injectors is
an expensive process? This is worth watching as such a change would mean the JUTC
would have to pass on fuel saving and reduced maintenance costs to commuters.
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