THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) officially launched its Customer Care Centre on Thursday, as part of efforts to improve service delivery to its approximately 240,000 clients.

The centre, which is located at the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in Kingston was constructed at a cost of $500,000. It is manned by five call centre representatives, and offers 24-hour service to respond to customer queries and complaints, and deal with conflict resolution.

The facility, which has been operational since February of this year, has received 7,500 calls, which is an average of 730 calls per day.

In his remarks at the launch ceremony, managing director of the JUTC, Colin Campbell, said the centre was just one of several initiatives by the JUTC to improve service to the public.

The customer service guides have been increased from 11 to 44 personnel, spread across its customer service access points in Kingston, Greater Portmore and Spanish Town, to provide on-the-ground assistance to commuters.

The guides inform JUTC travellers about routes, tickets and bus schedules as well as provide special assistance to disabled persons who use the facilities. A customer service information desk was also installed at the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre.

Additionally, the JUTC boss said arrangements were being made to ensure that the 2,173 employees of the bus company are trained in customer service techniques by March 31. A small number of JUTC staffers are also being taught sign language to facilitate hearing-impaired clients.

Campbell said that the agency takes its responsibility as the premier public transportation agency in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR) very seriously.

“With 140,000 adult commuters and 100,000 school children, pensioners and disabled commuters every day, we have to service that community and make sure that they not only travel safely, from origin to destination, but that the experience on the JUTC is a positive experience in terms of the customer service,” he stated.

Acting senior director of the Modernisation Programme Implementation Unit, Office of the Cabinet, Michelle Gordon-Somers, commended the JUTC on the initiative, which she said, was in keeping with Government’s thrust to improve service delivery among the state agencies.

“The establishment of your Customer Care Centre certainly indicates your interest in the well-being of your customers and interest in the quality of services accessed by them. It also demonstrates that you have rightly placed priority on delivering excellence to your clients. This initiative is in line with the service delivery thrust currently in place in the public sector,” she noted.

The Customer Care Centre operates under the JUTC’s Special Projects and Corporate Affairs Department.