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JUTA Tours is planning to relaunch its Kingston-Montego Bay express bus route before year end, but now has to contend with one more rival – the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited, JUTC, operator of a public metropolitan bus system that recently added a rural express service.
The group of private transport operators, which already has to go up against well-established luxury coach operator Knutsford Express Services Limited, expects that the public bus company’s entry into that segment of the market will serve to crowd out other private enterprise.
“We think the JUTC should focus on providing public transportation in the Corporate Area, Montego Bay and urban St Catherine. We are concerned that what is happening right now will have serious implications on the service we are planning to provide,” Noel Williams, president of the JUTA Kingston chapter, said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.
“We are planning to approach the government again to oppose this type of service,” Williams said. “We met with the prime minister and Minister (of Transport Daryl) Vaz just before the election and registered our displeasure even with the JUTC doing trips for funerals, schools and churches, because we are providing those same services which we cannot subsidise like the government,” he said.
The JUTC Rural Express service began October 1, with introductory fares of $2,000 for long-haul trips to and from Half-Way Tree in Kingston to Mandeville, Ocho Rios, Negril and Montego Bay; and from downtown Kingston to May Pen for $1,500.
Comparatively, the adult fare for Knutsford Express’ Kingston-Montego Bay service is more than $4,000. Knutsford Express itself services 18 major towns in Jamaica, including connections to Norman Manley International Airport and Sangster International Airport.
The JUTC said its Negril route includes stops at Savanna-la-Mar, Santa Cruz and Mandeville, while the Montego Bay route has a stop at Drax Hall in St Ann.
The Rural Express routes will operate from Monday to Saturday and is projected to deliver monthly revenue of $48 million, JUTC said. However, the company did not disclose how much it spent on the roll-out of the service, which utilises 51-seater coach buses on its routes.
The rural routes have nine drivers permanently assigned and three drivers reserved for emergencies.
“We have a fleet of 30 new premium buses to facilitate the demand for expansion if it is feasible,” the state-owned bus company said.
“The JUTC Rural Express service is not intended to compete with any operator. Our goal is to complement the existing transportation ecosystem by providing Jamaicans with a safe, affordable and comfortable option,” JUTC said in response to JUTA’s concerns about competition.
“We want all Jamaicans to use the Rural Express because when you ride with JUTC you’re not just reaching your destination, you are supporting Jamaica’s progress,” said the bus company currently headed by Managing Director Owen Ellington, a former commissioner of police.
However, the JUTA operators have a different view.
“We think it is unfair trade for the government to be offering this type of service at this time, knowing that we and other companies are providing the same type of service. We think the government should rethink the situation and withdraw this type of service,” Williams said.
The JUTA Express was initially launched earlier this year but discontinued because of “logistic problems” which, he said, have since been ironed out.
The private transport group said three 51-seater coaches and two 20-seater Coaster buses were been acquired for the service, which is expected to commence with trips between Kingston and Montego Bay in December.
The coaches cost between $27 million and $30 million each, while the Coaster buses were acquired for $15 million each.
Short for Jamaica Union of Travellers Association, JUTA started in 1973 as a grouping of contract carriage operators and was registered as a company in 1974. The association operates as a domestic tour company and has eight chapters in Kingston, Mandeville, Port Antonio, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Falmouth, Negril, and Lucea.
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