New Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses will hit the streets of the Corporate Area within days and commuters should expect a new look for the vehicles.

Fifty Volvo buses, painted with a striking yellow, were handed over to the JUTC last Friday with 50 more slated to arrive by April 1.

The older JUTC buses are also to be painted yellow as part of a colour-coding scheme for the public transportation sector being introduced by Transport Minister Mike Henry.

According to Henry, the colour-coding will allow for easier identification of public-passenger vehicles, easier traffic management and better overall regulation.

Stop illegalities

"This is very important if we are to break the back of the widespread illegalities and indiscipline in the service," Henry said.

"The formal colour-coding system will require that all other units in the (JUTC) region will eventually be painted yellow, while other colours will be selected to represent other regions and parishes," Henry added.

Henry has repeatedly argued that taxis should also be colour coded as part of a reform of the transport system.

A local company has already offered to paint the vehicles with a pilot programme expected to be launched before year end.

The new JUTC buses, which cost €251,300 each, have cutting-edge GPS tracking devices and other fleet management security features.

They are right-hand driven, air-conditioned and have a seating capacity of 53.

The buses are also equipped with state-of-the-art music systems which Henry said be tuned to the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica to keep the airwaves clean and provide information.