The Jamaican Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has extended the transportation services it offers to Jamaicans in a new and culturally diverse way by being the exclusive provider of what the company calls their “Kingston City Tour”.

This newest addition to the JUTC transportation services was launched on Emancipation Day (August 1) and gives all Jamaicans an opportunity to experience some of the well-known and interesting attractions the country’s capital city has to offer.

“The inspiration from this tour came out of really two things… the chairman (Garnett Roper) was always very insistent, in most cities you go you can find something to introduce you to the city and carry you around but Kingston had none and he felt that we should have one”, the managing director for JUTC, Collin Campbell told the Sunday Observer.

He said the second reason behind starting the tour was that the company was looking at broadening its income sources as currently money is only derived from regular passenger revenue, which Campbell said ” can go only so far and no more”.

Campbell maintained that while they are aware that this new source of additional income will take some time to develop, there are plans to market the tour very strongly both on the local and international markets.

However, at this time, plans are initially to target Jamaicans, but Campbell says by the end of September the company hopes to start facilitating international visitors, including those from the Jamaican Diaspora who visit the country during Independence and Christmas.

“We are in the process of obtaining a Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCO) registration which will then enable the company to offer our new service as a tourist product…we haven’t completed the registration process but we are still getting bookings from abroad”, Campbell said. He said just Thursday a group of fifteen people from Amsterdam called concerning the tour.

According to the managing director, the way the tour is structured also helps the education market as the group from Amsterdam consists of professors and doctoral students who planned to use aspects from the tour for their studies.

Campbell told the Observer that JUTC plans to network with some tour companies, especially those in the cruise ship industry as with the improvement of the highways, cruise operators can now bring groups of people from Ocho Rios or Montego Bay to the transport centre do the tour and go back in the afternoon in time to catch the ship.

“I know people were jumpy and saying JUTC going into the tourist market means they are coming to take away income, but our idea is not to bore the line by the shipside or anything, it’s just to offer a product that they themselves can plug into and make some money additionally for themselves”, he said.

He added that there have been strong interests from some of the hotels as well and so JUTC will be working with them to have a nice product.

The ‘Kingston City Tour’, which carries the slogan, “So much more to see”, is expected to offer four tours of the city, The Spirit of Reggae tour, Yo-Ho-Ho and a bottle of Rum, Jamaica Heritage tour and the Kingston Drive Out.

Currently, only the Spirit of Reggae and the Yo-Ho-Ho and a bottle of rum tours are up and running.

Initially, the tours will operate on Saturdays and Sundays but the company will make special arrangements to facilitate groups that wish to take tours during the week from Mondays to Fridays. All tours depart from the Half Way Tree Transport Centre and patrons are required to check in 45 minutes before departure. Tickets for the tours can be purchased from one of four locations, which include the Half Way Tree Transport Centre, the JUTC Downtown Kingston office, the JUTC Greater Portmore office and the Spanish Town Lay-by and payments must be made at least two days in advance.

The Spirit of Reggae tour offers patrons a chance to experience the places that gave rise to the iconic genre of music. The six hour tour starts at 10:30 a.m. and concludes at 4: 30 p.m. The first stop on this tour, which lasts one hour, is a visit to the Bob Marley Museum in St Andrew. Immediately after the museum, it’s on to Independence Park, where the statue of Bob Marley is located and the National Stadium where patrons can view and take pictures in this vicinity for up to 10 minutes.

The Spirit of reggae tour then goes to the Trench Town Culture Yard to experience the early forms of Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae before finally stopping at Tuff Gong International at Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston 11.

Patrons are also treated to a mini- concert at the Tuff Gong International section while on the Spirit of Reggae Tour. The cost for the entire package for adults comes at a special introductory price of $2,500 and for children $1,500.

The Yo-Ho-Ho and a bottle of Rum tour allows patrons to see and hear about what made Port Royal one of the most important towns in Jamaica in the 17th century. There are two different tours that fall in this section, the first one being the tour of Fort Charles and the second, the tour of the town centre. Both tours start at 11: 30 am and conclude at 5:30 in the afternoon.

The Fort Charles tour has patrons visiting the Giddy House, Port Royal Museums, Port Royal Fort, Grogg Shoppe and Gloria’s Restaurant. The cost for the entire package for adults who wish to go on the Fort Charles tour comes at a cost of $1,300 and for children $600.

For the cost of $2,000 per adult and $1,500 per child, the Town Centre tour gives patrons the opportunity to visit Fort Charles in addition to Morgan’s Line, Parade Ground-Chocolate Hole, Royal Engineer’s Arch, St. Peter’s Anglican Church among other attractions.

According to tour coordinator, Michelle Ching, the response to the tour “is not that bad so far”, as they have had three tours with around 65 persons that paid in addition to staff tours and the inaugural tour.

“I think getting our customers, getting our target market… its locals and in getting the word out there having them to come and try the product , that’s a challenge but I guess with aggressive marketing and campaigns we will accomplish that in the future”, Ching answered when asked what was the bus company’s biggest challenge concerning the tour.

Campbell said as a result the JUTC is going to use various methods to push the tour and by the end of the month, the message will saturate the market. He said that people should come and enjoy the different aspects of the tour because of many reasons but one that stands out is the great bargain patrons will get.

“When you go to the Bob Marley museum as an individual you pay two thousand and odd to go in…on this tour you get your Bob Marley tour for $500, it’s an introductory price but it’s a chance for Jamaicans to come”, Campbell said. He added that a lot of Jamaicans walk past the museum but never go inside for a visit because of the price, which is relatively expensive when one looks at how much Jamaicans are willing to spend on museums and the like.

With the Spirit of Reggae tour, Campbell said patrons will get to go a myriad of places for just $1,500 that on a normal basis would cost roughly $5,000 and so “it’s more than a bargain”.

Campbell said the tour currently accommodates two 55 seat luxury buses and they plan to upgrade to four in the near future. He said the good thing about the tour is that they are able to run without disturbing the normal schedule and the company’s commitment to the travelling public.