Shelly-Ann Thompson, Staff Reporter

This JUTC bus waits for passengers at North Parade, downtown Kingston, yesterday. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

After chalking up losses of $136 million per month since April, the state-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is being restructured by the Government with the aim of improving its operations and efficiency. Just this week, the contracts of five senior managers were terminated with the threat of more job cuts to come. According to the state-owned bus company, it will be placing emphasis on the scheduling and dispatching of buses as it aims to improve service delivery. Yesterday, The Gleaner news team rode the buses from Spanish Town to downtown Kingston and around the Corporate Area to get a feel of the service. Here are the experiences of two reporters:

My head hurts. That's how I felt after I departed a number 49 Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) bus in Manor Park, St. Andrew, yesterday.

The white two-door bus was noisy in every conceivable way. The door squeaked. The driver's chair cranked. The brakes bawled. The wipers squealed. On top of that, the roof leaked and the seat was tough.

Being a 'country' girl, I didn't realise that's how terrible it was to ride on a JUTC bus in 'town, despite what I have been told by my peers.

My jaunt was to commute to Constant Spring from downtown Kingston. At downtown Parade, I did not know what number bus to take. At 11:00 a.m., I stood in the light drizzle next to pools of water and looked around for a JUTC bus dispatcher. I saw a woman wearing a blouse with a JUTC logo and I skipped over to her.

"Do you know what number goes to Constant Spring?" I asked her.

"Number 52, but none no deh here," she said, and looked at a sheet. "One soon come."

To kill time, I ventured into a clothing store. Ten minutes later, I returned. I didn't see a 52 bus, but I saw a number 49. I went inside to find out if it was going to Constant Spring. There, I saw the familiar face of the JUTC worker.

"You didn't take the 52 bus? Mi think you in there. Where were you? Why didn't you tell me where you were going? Else me would a come call you," she reeled off.

Obviously, I had missed the bus. She instructed the driver of the 49 bus to take me to Manor Park.

Wow! What a helpful JUTC staff member. However, as the bus drove off, I became annoyed. The engine sound was irritating. With all the squeaks and racket, I hoped the ride wouldn't get worse.

Leaking roof

Then, huge raindrops came through the roof, wetting a passenger's pants. I looked up, wondering if I would be next.

I thought, no wonder the company was losing money, as throughout the entire ride that went through Half-Way Tree, Cross Roads and Cherry Gardens, only about 20 persons boarded the bus. Most of the passengers were senior citizens, some smelly. At the end of the ride, only two persons remained on the bus. An hour later, I was in Manor Park, getting off my $50 bus ride.

shelly-ann.thompson@gleanerjm.com