$100,000 or six months in jail for taking 'robot' vehicles, says JUTC

Jerome Reynolds, Saff Reporter



KINGSTON, Jamaica:

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has announced a raft of measures as it moves to implement reforms to the public transportation system in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region.



Officials of the bus company told a JIS Think Tank this morning that come April 1 private and public transport operators will be integrated.



In a series of tweets on its Twitter account, the government’s information service said the JUTC indicated that private and public transport operators will be required to charge the same fares, with adults paying $100 and a fare of $20 for concessionary commuters.



It further said the JUTC will roll out a uniform colour code for the KMTR where private transport operators will be given until April 8 to paint their vehicles yellow.



The JUTC said it will be illegal for unregulated vehicles to be painted yellow noting that these vehicles will be seized and possibly forfeited.



The bus company said in addition to the yellow colour, buses will get a sticker bearing a security feature that will prevent it from being re-applied to several vehicles.



Meanwhile, the JUTC says under the new regime there will be intensified efforts to stamp out illegal operators.



It says private conductors will be required to issue tickets to passengers.



The JUTC says conductors who fail to issue a ticket can be charged with obtaining money by false pretense.



The bus company says franchisees will be given a roll of tickets which is to be issued to passengers upon payment of fares.



And it says passengers can be charged up to $100,000 or six months in jail for taking unregulated vehicles.



The JUTC says there will be no room for loader-men in the new system and those who are found to be operating as such will be charged with intercepting pedestrians.



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