Portmore to Get Bulk of New Volvo Buses
February 7, 2009The Full Story
Portmore commuters can expect a significant improvement in the quality of service provided by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), with 25 of 50 newly acquired Volvo buses to be deployed to that route.
Marketing and Sales Manager of the JUTC, Lenworth Simms, speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ yesterday (Feb. 5), said that the move to dispatch the bulk of the buses to the St. Catherine community, is “a strategic response to the noticeable need for more buses to transport the large number of commuters that ply the Portmore routes.”
Of the remaining 25 buses, 15 will be dispatched to Rockfort and the remaining 10 to Spanish Town.
Assistant Vice President of Operations at the JUTC, Robert Harpaul, informed that the buses are now being serviced for deployment to the depots and they should be in operation by the second week of April. He said that the managers of the three depots will decide on the routes that the buses will operate.
“Drivers have already been selected to drive these new buses. We are getting representatives from the manufacturer to train drivers to drive the buses,” he told JIS News.
While grateful for the boost in the JUTC fleet, Mr. Harpaul stated that 700 buses are required to adequately meet the needs of the travelling public.
According to Mr. Harpaul, the JUTC has a total of 444 buses, with 325 in operation. With the 50 buses that were recently acquired, and another 50 due to arrive in April, the fleet will increase to 425.
He noted however that the number will be reduced, as some of the buses were due to be withdrawn. He explained that the average age of most buses in the fleet is nine years, while the lifespan is about 10 years. He said that the buses will be assessed and a decision will be made on which buses will be removed.
“We are basically trying to do the best we can to provide service to the travelling public. We need additional buses and hopefully, we’ll get them as time goes on so we [can provide] a better service for the travelling public, Mr. Harpaul stated.