Another JUTC bus fire - company to restructure maintenance department

Following a series of  fires on its buses the management of  the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, (JUTC) says it is now forced to restructure its maintenance department and this will result in job losses.

Reports of plans to restructure the department came following an incident on Sunday when another  JUTC bus caught along the Portmore leg of Highway 2000.

JUTC Chairman Garnet Roper says the manufacturer of  JUTC buses, Volvo, is insisting that poor maintenance is the primary cause of  the fires.

He says there will be changes to the management of  the JUTC's maintenance department.

"We have done an analysis of the company loyalty of members who work in that department.... this is one of the area that we are going to target

Roper is also concerned that the buses could develop a reputation of being unsafe if a solution is not found to the fires.

"We have to pay great attention to it, we don't want to develop a reputation of the buses being unsafe, we have no reason, to believe that they are

He said it's costing the JUTC millions of  dollars to repair the damaged buses. 

Meanwhile, the JUTC Chairman says revenue at the State owned bus company has improved significantly. He said among other things, the company is  making progress in encouraging comuters to use cards instead of cash.