JUTC Increases Smart Card Outlets

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has forged an alliance with the Postal Corporation of Jamaica (PostCorp), which will enable commuters to purchase smart cards at eight post offices in the corporate area and St. Catherine.
The locations are the Central Sorting Office, Cross Roads, Hagley Park, Liguanea, Meadowbridge and Windward Road and the General Post Office in Kingston and the Gregory Park Post Office in Portmore.
The move comes as the JUTC seeks to increase public access to its cashless service. “With the addition of these [eight] locations, customers can now top up their smart cards at 34 locations,” JUTC President Patrick McIntosh said at the launch of the venture yesterday (Aug. 24) at the CSO on South Camp Road. This in addition to the in-school service, which is offered at 20 schools in the corporate area and Portmore.
Meanwhile, Mr. McIntosh announced that the JUTC would be having a back-to-school special next week, “which will give commuters an extra bonus on their cards.”
State Minister for Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Senator Kern Spencer, in his remarks, said that the agreement between the JUTC and PostCorp would allow post offices in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region to sell JUTC smart cards and enable commuters to top-up their cards.
He assured that the eight locations were fully staffed, secure and equipped with the necessary management and technical support to effectively offer the additional service.
Meanwhile, he informed that the postal service was “now accepting credit cards for the payment of postage and bill payment transactions” at three pilot locations – CSO, Liguanea and Mona, and “the number of locations offering this facility will be expanded during the 2006/2007 financial year.”
State Minister for Housing, Transport, Water and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, in his address, implored commuters to take advantage of the cashless system, noting that it was more cost effective, safer and was a crime deterrent.
A smart card is an electronic fare payment card, which may be purchased at any of the designated locations at a cost of $50 and can be recharged indefinitely without the purchase of a new card.