JUTC Rolls Out Vehicle Tracking System Tomorrow

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) will roll out its state-of-the-art vehicle tracking system on Monday (September 1), as the state owned bus company continues to put measures in place to create a world class public transportation system.

Introduction of the Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) tracking system will serve to greatly improve fleet management and enhance the company’s service to the public.

The system, which was been piloted on several routes, allows the JUTC full control of its vehicles, enabling the company to track the movements and speed of the buses.

AVL systems can be used to increase the accountability of field personnel and boost the efficiency of a company’s dispatching procedure.

For instance, dispatchers can get a real-time account of a driver’s adherence to a route, provide customers with an estimated time of arrival, and communicate directly with drivers.

According to JUTC’s Managing Director, Colin Campbell, the vehicle locator system will enable the JUTC to know where every bus is, once it has been dispatched.

“Even if it is not dispatched, we can see it in the yard. So we will be able to see every single bus on the route. We will be able to know what time those buses are arriving at the various points,” he said.

Mr. Campbell was speaking at a recent media briefing at the JUTC’s Spanish Town Depot in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, following a tour of several JUTC locations.

The AVL is a device that makes use of Global Positioning System (GPS) to remotely track vehicles using the Internet.

These devices combine GPS technology, cellular communication, street-level mapping, and an intuitive user interface.

Mr. Campbell shared that the broader vision of the JUTC, as it works to enhance the system, is to enable greater public access through the use of smart phones.

“It will be available to everybody on their smart phone that you no longer need to use paper, but you will be able to see your particular bus route on your smart phone, and you will be able to know when the bus is coming,” he said.

An additional feature of this system, the Managing Director pointed out, is that it will allow for increased security, especially for parents, who will be able to monitor the movements of their children travelling on the JUTC buses.

“As long as you know the fleet number of the bus that your child is on (the system) can assist you in monitoring the movement of your child on any particular bus on our routes.

In addition, with smart phone access, persons will, eventually, be able to manage their smarter card usage, Mr. Campbell added.

“So eventually, we will get there, because it is no longer rocket science; this is technology that exists. You can get a barcode on your phone that can be read and you can deal with all your bus transactions right from your own phone. So we are moving in that direction…we want the JUTC to be at the cutting edge, “he stated.