JUTC ending free ride programme for frontline workers

Amid the economic crunch from the coronavirus pandemic, the state-owned bus company is to discontinue free rides to essential workers.

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) says it has to end the programme, which was introduced last April, because of financial constraints made worse by COVID-19.

The initiative will cease on February 14.

The free ride programme, which applies to the JUTC as well as Montego Bay (MoBay) Metro, is being offered to first responders such as hospital staff, firemen, public-sector ambulance drivers, public health inspectors, correctional officers, police personnel, and soldiers.

It was introduced as a show of gratitude and support to frontline workers in the pandemic.

The economic downturn from COVID-19 has hit the finances of the JUTC.

Transport Minister Robert Montague, in an interview with The Gleaner last October, indicated that the bus companies have bled revenues of around 40 per cent despite the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions.

READ: JUTC, MoBay Metro revenue down 40%, says Montague

“Our programme to allow first responders to ride free has affected the revenue base, but it is a national effort and we all have to come together and do what we must,” Montague said at the time.

It was indicated that stay-at-home orders for the elderly and an evolving work-from-home culture have also hurt the JUTC and MoBay Metro’s bottom line.

Montague said adjustments to revenue projections were automatic because of the plunge in ridership and reduced hours of operation.

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