TRANSPORT AND Works Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, said Wednesday that over the last two years, Government had invested over $4 billion to upgrade the transport system.
The funds, channelled through Metropolitan Management Transport Holdings (MMTH) and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), have provided over 400 buses and a set of modern state-of-the-art depots.
Three depots are now in operation and construction is under way at the depots in Portmore, St. Catherine and Rockfort in East Kingston, the Minister told journalists.
"On Monday Cabinet approved approximately $82.7 million for the construction of a workshop at the Rockfort depot. Both Rockfort and the Portmore depots will be completed in the first quarter of next year," Dr. Phillips said.
The Minister who was speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry offices in Kingston, said of the buses in the JUTC's present fleet of just over 400, 24 are articulated.
"Within the next few months the company will receive an additional 86 buses, including 34 articulated and two bi-articulated," he said, in a release from the Jamaica Information Service.
Dr. Phillips said the Ministry was looking forward to JUTC taking over the entire system, "because this will ensure a more rational utilisation of resources and allow for more efficient scheduling as well as an overall improvement in the service that we are able to provide."
In addition, he said that service levels should improve considerably with the planned introduction of a scheduling software package to enable the company to maintain operational and routing schedules.
"Efforts are under way to procure this software at a cost of $1 million," the Minister added.
