Glenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
IT IS a story of steady success despite its limited reach.
This is the view of both passengers and Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) officials for the two Special Needs buses currently provided for persons with disabilities.
The initiative was introduced in January 2001 with two specially outfitted Mercedes Benz buses plying the Portmore to Papine, and Harbour View to Papine routes.
According to public relations officer, Errol Lee, the service is limited as it is "still concentrated" in the Portmore and Papine areas because of the large numbers of disabled persons who have to use the route.
But with regular and sustained loads of 1,071 passengers per week, including both adults, children and student passengers, the operators are calling it a success.
"They (the passengers) are very happy for it, and from the perspective of really introducing a new dimension to the service we provide, we are very happy with it as well because historically in our transportation system in Jamaica, they have been ignored. Before the JUTC, there was absolutely nothing."
Shawn Perry, a visually impaired passenger of the buses, is ecstatic about the service.
"In my opinion it's an excellent service. Most mornings it's very precise, you could almost set your watch by it. The number 102 for example, will start from Harbour View at 6:00 a.m. get to Windward Road by 6:30 a.m., get to Half-Way Tree by 7:30 a.m, reach to Papine by 8:00 and have you in Mona about 8:15 a.m.," he said.
Hardest working drivers
"The drivers for the Special Needs buses are possibly the hardest working drivers in the entire company. They work alone so they have to help the people into the bus, and there are times when the lifts don't work so they'll have to lift them up, and lift them out, and collect fares as well. But they are courteous, and friendly. If a driver on the Portmore route, for example, knows where you live he'll even volunteer to take you straight there," Mr. Perry added.
Eighteen-year-old Marsha Gilmore stays at the Hostel for Disabled Persons on Home-stead Road in Kingston and says that it is not uncommon for the bus to come to the gate for pickups at 6:00 every morning. The service is the same in the afternoon, with students deposited outside the gates.
Both of them decry the early days when getting out was a big problem.
"It was taxi all the way, anywhere you going, trust me and for those of us who weren't working a lot of money, cost of living was very high," said Mr. Perry.
"I could take the regular buses but with my disability it was hard to see the bus number from far off, so I usually had to stop them to ask where they were going and have someone look out for my stop. It was very awkward," he said.
"I would hear of persons who would complain about taxi men who would exploit them and charge them extra or they wouldn't take them up because of the extra work involved, lifting them out of the chair, into the car, folding the chair and putting it into the back. There were some, when rain fall they don't want to take the chair because they said it would dirty up their 'criss' car. So there were problems."
Today they say their only problem is that the service is confined to set areas.
"There is room for improvement in terms of more buses being on the road especially for the Spanish Town route, and the truth is too that not everyone knows about it."
Early last month the JUTC announced plans for a further two buses to be added to the current fleet. A contingent of 30 additional buses was then acquired from Germany at a cost of $6.8 million. Two smaller Volvo buses have since been handed over to the JUTC, by Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill.
Four buses have now been designated to cater to the needs of the disabled community.
"We have received the buses but have not yet configured them to our (Jamaican) specifications. Other buses have been outfitted to accommodate but they are not exclusive. These however, will be exclusively for the disabled," Mr. Lee explained.
Valerie Spence, administrative programmes officer at the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, also praised the current service on behalf of the disabled community.
Tremendous response
"The response has been tremendous as many of the institutions which cater to persons with disabilities are located in Papine, so persons have benefited a lot," she said.
"Especially the children who use wheelchairs, persons who live in the Cheshire Village or those who have to attend the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, they have been served tremendously well."
Mr. Lee explained that the emphasis was on a "personalised" service to a target audience which included senior citizens.
"It is definitely not a money-making service, it's a service to the community itself, a very warm service where the driver often knows the names of his passengers, and is usually familiar with their particular needs, for example, those who are in wheelchairs are assisted getting into and out of the buses," he said.
