Government Commits to Provide Affordable, Safe and Reliable Transportation to New Areas

Expansion of routes outside the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR) by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) reflects the commitment of the Government to provide safe, reliable and affordable transportation to new and expanding communities, as well as to rural parishes.

This was stated by Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, at the Ministry’s press conference, on Tuesday (March 4), at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre in Kingston.

The Minister said the JUTC is seeking to expand services to new and premium routes, including route 311 to Catherine Estates, Mandeville to May Pen, and Montego Bay to Lucea and Negril (from the Montego Bay Depot).

“These expansions are important to meeting the growing demand for public transportation and improving connectivity across the island, especially with the infrastructure that this government is putting in place in terms of road networks,” he said.

Since the inception of the newest service routes, the JUTC has recorded a total of 115,742 passengers transported, averaging 2,561 passengers daily across the 14 new routes.

Among the premium routes are Silver Sun Estate (routes 135 and 137), which have collectively transported 7,751 passengers, while Phoenix Park Village one and two (routes 309 and 310) have transported 5,938 passengers.

The regular service routes have shown significant usage, with Old Harbour to May Pen (route 501) leading the count with 23,346 passengers.

Other notable routes include Yallahs to downtown Kingston (route 701), with 22,900 passengers, and Morant Bay to downtown Kingston (route 702) with 16,280 passengers.

Additionally, routes such as Chapelton to May Pen (route 504), 3,556 passengers; and Lionel Town to May Pen (route 502) and Toll Gate to May Pen (route 503) have each surpassed 8,000 passengers, highlighting strong commuter demand on these corridors.

Other notable contributions are Linstead to Spanish Town (route 605), 5,496 passengers; May Pen to Spanish Town (route 511), 5,170 passengers; and Castleton/Grande Hole to Half-Way Tree (route 52B), 2,067 passengers.

“These numbers reflect a growing reliance on public transportation in these areas and the importance of continued expansion and service enhancements to meet commuter needs effectively,” the Minister said.

The first phase of the JUTC’s route expansion was introduced in November 2024 to the new housing developments in the Greater Bernard Lodge area of St. Catherine, namely Silver Sun Estate, Phoenix Park Village one and two, and Old Harbour.

Mr. Vaz emphasised that it is not the intention of the JUTC to compete with PPV operators and urged private operators to continue to retool and improve on the quality of service they deliver to commuters.

“The expansion of the service is not intended to displace private operators in the public transport sector. The JUTC aims to provide professional, safe, reliable and affordable transportation, a standard by which public transportation will be defined,” the Minister said.