Adjustments to Be Made at Transport Centre in Morant Bay to Accommodate JUTC Buses

With the introduction of two new Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) routes in St. Thomas a week ago, the Government is assessing appropriate facilities to ensure the safe and comfortable offering of the service in the parish.

Chief among them is the Church Street Transport Centre in Morant Bay, which was one of the locations toured by Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, today (December 10).

Speaking with Journalists at the location, Mr. Vaz said that the facility, which is operated by the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation, is to be adjusted to accommodate the buses.

“[We are] looking at how we can do some adjustments to the layout of this site to allow for the buses to be able to come in here and turn, and also to mark and [create] signage for the other bus routes and taxi routes,” the Minister said.

“This location is ideal, it’s spacious, it has infrastructure and everything. All it really requires is some planning in terms of some adjustment of the layout,” he added.

In Morant Bay, Bus 702 begins loading on Wharf Road, just outside Colonel Cove, and then makes a stop on Church Street outside of the Transport Centre.

While the Church Street facility is formal, Mr. Vaz noted that the Wharf Road stop is informal and “does not have the facilities and poses a danger to safety and security, so that also is something that we’re looking at”.

“This is a collaboration among the Municipal Corporation, the JUTC, the Transport Authority, the Mayor and the Members of Parliament to work with the team to make sure that we come up with something that is doable and workable in the shortest possible time,” the Minister said.

As for Yallahs, Mr. Vaz expressed concern that the town does not have a transport centre, “and it is quite a bit of public transportation in the township”.

“Member of Parliament, James Robertson, has indicated that there is a possibility that there may be a site at the old market in Yallahs. We’ll have discussions with the Ministry of Local Government and the Municipal Corporation to see whether or not that could actually be used as a dual purpose, both as a market and transport centre,” Mr. Vaz said.