'We are school-ready'

With the rigorous demands and high costs associated with the new school year, Reginald Allen, corporate communications manager at the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), is assuring parents that a safe and courteous bus service will be in place.

"We are ready for the start of the coming school year," Allen told Automotives.

"We [at JUTC] are planning to add buses to some of our existing routes."

He said while there is always room for additional units to the overall system, he believes the existing bus complement should cover most routes.

Added new buses

"We should be OK as we have consistently added new buses into the system over the past couple of years," said Allen.

He explained that the student traffic is primarily during peak hours, and the bus company's service-planning personnel would take that into consideration before deciding which routes would need additional buses during those hours.

"We just have to ensure the relevant corridors are outfitted with more buses to handle the increase in passenger volume," he said.

"The JUTC offers one of the safest rides and our approach to service delivery is far more outstanding than any of our competitors," he said. "We don't push and tug our children to get onto the buses. We ensure children are in a line, before getting aboard to ensure their safety and comfort."