Over 5,000 commuters use JUTC’s new St Thomas routes

More than 5,000 commuters traversed the Jamaica Urban Transit Company’s (JUTC) new routes to Yallahs and Morant Bay in St Thomas, during the first week of the historic service.

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, who toured the routes yesterday  (December 10), described this turnout as “remarkable”.    “The response, so far, has been overwhelming in terms of the reception to the bus service, and that is something that I am very pleased about.

“The report that I have for the first week of operation, five days to be exact, is that there were over 5,000 persons that used the JUTC buses, which is remarkable. The one to Yallahs was almost 3,000 and the one to Morant Bay was a little over 2,000,” he reported, pointing out that, “that’s just a start.”

“People are still getting their Smarter Cards to be able to benefit from the reduced rates, and there is a keen interest in the routes.

"What is [also] important is that the buses stop along the way. So, it’s not a straight [journey] from downtown [Kingston] to Yallahs or to Morant Bay; they stop at all the necessary points where there are communities and potential traffic,” the minister added.

Vaz boarded the 7:20am bus from Yallahs Square to Morant Bay. In Morant Bay, he visited the Church Street and Wharf Road bus stops as well as the Morant Bay Police Station where SmartFare Card sign-ups and top-ups are currently taking place.

“This is a really bright day in St Thomas, this morning. I’m glad I came and I am very, very pleased with the results, so far,” he stated.

Vaz advised that test runs have been undertaken for the potential expansion of the JUTC’s service to May Pen, Clarendon, and Williamsfield, Manchester.

“We’ll hear more about those in the coming days. This is the commitment to keep up with the infrastructure that the Government is putting in, to make sure that there is proper, reliable and safe transportation for those routes as well,” he stated.