Day: August 20, 2021

SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine: The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) will be operating a limited service for essential and frontline staff during the seven (7) no-movement days, which will take effect on Sunday, August 22, 2021 .

The bus company wishes to advise that with the curfew being extended today to 9pm that buses will be available until 8:30pm to facilitate essential workers who may leave work late and need to do last minute shopping. On days when the curfew is at 8pm, the last trip for all routes will be at 7:30pm.

“We are encouraging commuters to take note of the curfew times and NOT to wait until the appointed time to get their business done. Let me also say that on the no-movement days, we will be operating with a skeleton staff, with only essential workers being on the ground to include bus drivers and members of our maintenance team,” Mr Thoms continued.

Meanwhile, the JUTC’s ticket office will be closed on no-movement days, but will reopen on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 for commuters wishing to top-up or block lost or stolen SmarterCards. As such, we are appealing to commuters to top up their SmarterCards in advance.

The JUT C is urging commuters to wear their masks, ensuring that their noses are covered for the entire length of their journey when using public transportation and to adhere to the established health protocols. Keep safe and stay alive.

Download Limited Service Routes & Departure Times Here

Kingston, Jamaica: August 17, 2021
One thousand employees of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) are now being trained
to help with the recovery of missing children through a partnership with the Child Protection and
Family Services Agency’s (CPFSA) Ananda Alert Secretariat.
Under the initiative, drivers, conductors and dispatchers will be trained in identifying signs of
child abuse, categories of missing children, identifying children who may be at-risk (runaways,
abducted, otherwise exploited), handling incidents and making reports.
Chief Executive Officer at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee
Gage-Grey, said the partnership with JUTC is the first in a series of trainings by the Ananda
Alert Secretariat to sensitize workers in the transport sector about missing children and the role
they can play in the recovery process.
Mrs. Gage-Grey added that the partnership was also developed in recognition of the need to
embrace new strategies and synergies that aid in the safe and speedy recovery of missing
children.
“The Ananda Alert Programme has a four-pronged approach: prevention, recovery, intervention
and knowledge sharing. The transport sector is well-poised to assist us in much of these areas,
but particularly the recovery aspect. Children take buses and taxis every day. Therefore, we
believe that the partnership with the transport sector will greatly aid in our efforts to locate
missing children and even further our prevention efforts,” Mrs. Gage-Grey said.
Meanwhile, JUTC’s Managing Director Paul Abrahams said the partnership was quite timely as
there is an urgent need for Jamaicans to protect the nation’s children.
“At the JUTC, we care about the well-being of the nation’s children. This partnership involving
our frontline team will mean more eyes and ears to identify incidents of child abuse and to
recover missing children with our wide network of drivers and dispatchers. Our children are our
future and we must do everything we can to protect them,” Mr. Abrahams said.
Last year, 1,066 children were reported missing with 843 located; a decrease from 2019 where
1,534 children were reported missing with 1,072 located.
Mrs. Gage-Grey said the numbers are still a cause for great concern as any missing child is a
child in need of care and protection.
Operated by CPFSA’s National Children’s Registry, the Ananda Alert Secretariat, established in
2009, has responsibility for the implementation of missing children interventions and
coordinating of stakeholders in the Ananda Alert system.