JUTC News Release

JUTC only facilitating the movement of essential workers during St. Catherine lockdown

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company, JUTC, is advising the public that following the announcement by the Government of a one-week lockdown of the parish of St. Catherine, it will ONLY be facilitating the movement into and out of the parish of essential workers. The lockdown which began at 5am this morning will run until April 22, 2020, is in the wake of a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Godphey Sterling says persons who are non-essential workers will be accommodated to pursue the essentials of life within the parish but that is to be done within the stipulated time. He says while the hours of operations for the JUTC remain unchanged, commuters in St. Spanish Town and Portmore should take note of the following –

  1. Between the hours of 5:00am and 8:00am today only personnel in the essential services may ride the buses with appropriate identification.
  2. Between 8:00am and 10:00am only persons 65 yrs and older, pregnant persons and the disabled may ride the buses within the parish of St. Catherine.
  3. Between 10:00am and 1:30pm persons with surnames beginning with the letters A to M may ride the buses with appropriate identification.
  4. Between 1:30pm and 5:00pm persons with surnames beginning with the letters N to Z may ride the buses with appropriate identification.
  5. We are prepared to provide a shuttle type service within the municipality of Portmore between areas of commerce and population centres between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm. Provided there is a demand.
  6. We will review these measures where necessary and adjust accordingly as we continue to monitor the situation.

 

During the one-week lockdown, there will be 2 days to pursue the essentials of life. Medical emergencies will be treated with as they arise. These days are Wednesday, April 15, 2020 and Saturday, April 18, 2020.  We are appealing to persons who are not classified as first responders or essential workers to stay home as we work towards containing COVID-19.