Month: November 2022

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited, JUTC, is reporting that there were 2 separate incidents on its buses resulting in injuries to passengers and damage to units yesterday.

The injuries to the passengers are not considered critical.

According to preliminary reports, at approximately 3:20pm, a route 97 bus (which plies Downtown to Bull Bay) was travelling along the intersection of Windward Road and South Camp Road, when passengers began shouting they can’t breathe. It’s understood that there was an altercation between students when one of them sprayed pepper spray. The driver reportedly opened the front door to get passengers out of the unit, while other passengers reportedly broke the side glass of the unit, both right and left in a bid to exit the bus. It is understood that police personnel who were passing by observed what was happening and provided assistance. The student who released the pepper spray was pointed out and was taken into police custody.

In the second incident, a stone was hurled inside a bus travelling from Half Way Tree to Spanish Town on route 32B at around 7:40pm in the vicinity of Eastwood Park Road and Courtney Walsh Drive. One passenger was injured, but his wounds are not considered life-threatening. The bus was intercepted by the Police along Washington Boulevard near Marverley, and a male passenger was taken to hospital.

The JUTC is encouraging persons who filmed the two incidents and anyone else who may have information, to provide it to the police to help in their investigations. We are also pleading with those who would seek to perpetrate violence, the hoodlums who engage in this reckless practice of stoning our buses to stop it! Such actions only serve to diminish the service we provide to the travelling public and endanger their lives. 

 

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited has noticed in recent times that commuters to include students, who use our service at North and South Parade downtown, Kingston, specifically at our lay-bys, have been doing so recklessly. Commuters have been engaging in the dangerous practice of running along buses as the unit enter the lay-bys in an effort to get inside of them. This practice is wholly unsafe and could result in injury or worse, a fatality.

“We understand the challenge currently being experienced and the frustration that the long waiting time is causing. However, we implore teachers, parents and guardians to remind children/students not to rush or run alongside a bus before it comes to a complete stop. Students and adult passenger alike must wait on the sidewalk or curb until it is safe to enter the bus” Mr. Thoms said.

Continuing, he noted that “the JUTC will be reaching out to schools to enlist the support of Principals, the Road Safety Council and parent teacher groups in reminding students about proper road usage as well as good pedestrian behaviour. While we make this appeal, we are also encouraging our adults to be proper role models and to protect our children”.

Additionally, we know that as the Christmas season approaches, there will be more demand for our service and as such we are doing all we can to increase our bus rollout to reduce crowding at our lay-bys. We ask for your continued patience and understanding as we look forward to receiving brand new buses next year.