New JUTC Portland route not meant to replace transport operators - Ellington

 

Managing Director of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), Owen Ellington, is seeking to assure transport operators in Portland that the new JUTC bus service is not geared towards replacing them but to bring new commuters to the parish.

 

On Wednesday, the JUTC launched a new route from Kingston and Portland.

 

The Route 710 bus will operate from Monday to Saturday between downtown Kingston and Port Antonio, twice daily.

 

"I'd like to make it clear that the presence of the JUTC in Portland is not intended to displace PPV operators. That has been a longstanding concern and we have used every opportunity available to us to reassure our partners in the public transport sector, who privately invest, that we have no intention to displace them. Rather, it is our intention to actually bring additional business to townships," he stressed.

 

Mr. Ellington said the state-run bus company's presence in towns like Ocho Rios, St. Ann and Mandeville, Manchester "has shown that the JUTC is actually triggering a new wave internal commute" with the entity at times having to increase its buses on these particular routes to accommodate the demand. 

 

The JUTC managing director said members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and military in Portland will be allowed to ride free on the buses in keeping with the longstanding policy of the bus company.

 

"We do this because we want to encourage members of the security forces to use the service," he said, adding that the presence of the uniformed professionals in communities, public spaces and on public transport is important.