By John Myers Jr., Staff ReporterTHE JAMAICA Urban Transit Company (JUTC), as part of efforts to improve efficiency and cut operational expenses, has implemented a new computerised maintenance system and has further plans to install a new computerised bus schedule and dispatch system.
The new maintenance software was acquired at a cost of US$250,000 and is expected to shave some 10 per cent off the bus company's $144 million annual maintenance budget.
The computerised scheduling system is to be acquired at an additional US$900,000.
REPAIR TIMES TO BE CUT
Major Desmond Brown, JUTC operations manager, told The Gleaner on Tuesday that the new software is expected to greatly improve the turnaround time on repairs to the 600-bus fleet.
"By automating our system, our scheduling will be done properly so we don't miss any bus, and we will be able to quickly identify buses that have specific problems," Major Brown said.
"It is easier to identify the errors, for example, if I am doing the same thing on a particular bus three times, the system will tell me whether we are doing something wrong or the person is not doing the job properly."
Tore Larrson, managing director, said the company sources spare parts for its Mercedes Benz and Volvo brand buses from Sweden, Mexico and Brazil, which have to be paid for in either euros or United Sates dollars.
The cost involved, he said, made it imperative that the bus company maximise efficiency in this area, and the new maintenance system is expected to become fully operational within the next six months.
On Monday, Cabinet gave approval for the JUTC to implement a fully computerised bus schedule and dispatch system that would assist the State-owned entity to properly maintain an efficient schedule of buses on the various routes within the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR).
He said the JUTC currently uses an in-house designed system constructed on Microsoft's Access and Excel software, which does not allow for efficient operations.
The JUTC operations manager said the new software, which is to be acquired from a company in the United States, will take up to two years to produce the desired efficiencies, adding that the installation would depend on how quickly the funding is allocated by Government.
