Vaz promises more improvement in JUTC service delivery

By Clinton McGregor    

 

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz has signalled that his Ministry is determined to improve the rollout of Jamaica Urban Transit Company buses to meet the growing demand of commuters.

 

Commuters have been complaining bitterly about excessive wait times for JUTC buses.

 

Mr. Vaz has said he will be reviewing the management of the JUTC with a view to improving service delivery to the public.

 

The minister visited several JUTC depots on Wednesday as part of the review.

 

Mr. Vaz spoke with Radio Jamaica News while at the Spanish Town depot.

 

"Happy to see that the crowds are no longer here. The report I've gotten is that between 5:30 and 6:30, most persons were moved. And thankfully, the wait times for buses, since I've been here, was just under 30 minutes, which is excellent and a big improvement from before. What I've been told this morning is that the rollout from Spanish Town is now up to 29 buses rotating. And that is coming from 15 buses. And that's as a result of the redeployment of other buses here, and of course, some of the CNG buses also assigned here. So this is very good news," he shared. 

 

Causewell Pinnock, General Manager for the Spanish Town Depot, said commuters in Spanish Town should see an improvement in service delivery following the recent addition of new buses.

 

"So far, we have had great improvement since those 100 new CNG arrived. We got some transfers of the articulated buses from Portmore and 10 of those CNG, and it has done a wonder to our fleet. Our complaints from the commuters have really gone down, way down, and we are maybe not satisfied, but we are getting there,' he admitted.