THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) says it has been spending less on fuel and toll fees since it began offering a Sunday bus transfer service to Portmore residents.

Gwyneth Davidson, communication manager, said that while the company was yet to calculate its savings, there had been a significant reduction in fuel cost and toll fees in the eight weeks since the ‘Sunday transfers’ began.

“We also have not lost any ridership as a result of this transfer,” Davidson added.

Commuters are required to transfer to a bus en route to either Half-way-Tree or downtown Kingston when they get to the designated transfer point in Portmore.

The state-owned bus company had announced earlier this year that it would be offering daily transfers to the municipality. However, Davidson told the Observer that the plan was delayed because the funds to construct a transportation hub were not yet available.

She said the transfers were not being done on the initial plot of land that the JUTC had identified a few months ago.

“We haven’t been able to put up a building or to pave the area, so right now we are operating from the existing road network,” she explained.

In the meantime, she said the company was working to identify the funds to build the transportation hub and get the daily transfers going.

“We already see that there is a benefit to the transfer service, but we are not able to put up the building and pave the area right now, so we can’t say when we will be able to go to weekdays,” Davidson said.

Until the necessary infrastructure has been put in place, the municipality has given the JUTC permission to have the transfers done from the Town Centre and along the existing road network.

Sunday was chosen as the day for the transfer because fewer commuters used the service then. However, according to Davidson, this is providing the company with necessary experience which will prepare it for a week-long transfer service.

“We chose Sundays because on that day there are fewer commuters, so that means we would have a lot more buses to manage in a small area that is not designed as a transportation centre,” she said.

Although there is no permanent infrastructure in place, Davidson insisted that everything was being done to ensure that the necessary facilities were put in place for the comfort of commuters and crew members.

“We do have restroom facilities that we rent every Sunday for the benefit of commuters and our crew. We also have a tent as well as some rented chairs so that people can rest while they wait, because not all the buses run frequently,” she said.

And while admitting that the present accommodation was far from perfect, Davidson said it would have to do until the company established a proper hub for Portmore residents.