THE Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) says it is stepping up its campaign to convince residents of the Kingston metropolis that it is the safest mode of commuting in the city.

According to JUTC marketing and communications manager Reginald Allen, while the statement might seem vain, in light of current anxieties about criminals preying on commuters using transportation in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR), it is a fact.

The KMTR comprises Kingston and St Andrew, Portmore and Spanish Town in St Catherine — areas linked to some of the most bizarre criminal activity — but the JUTC has urged commuters to use its safer buses rather than route and hackney cabs, and other forms of public transportation.

According to Allen, the Government-owned bus company is gradually introducing real-time monitoring of each unit within its fleet of buses, with an ongoing programme in place to ultimately accomplish that goal.

The tracking system involves video surveillance inside, outside and within a radius of each bus and is, so far, being used by a growing number of applicable units within the ongoing improvement project.

“It’s all part of our efforts as a state-owned entity to bring greater safety and reassurance to our valued commuters, who have become quite wary of the perils they face with elements among the competition, who have been plaguing especially the ladies and children for some time now,” he told the Jamaica Observer in a telephone interview.

He said that the JUTC has already advised commuters that the high-tech SmarterCards used by some of its passengers allow for the tracking of the travelling pattern of individuals, based on their use of the company’s buses, and such details can be requested of the company on parental control grounds.

“Hence, for example, a missing child’s travel with a SmarterCard on JUTC buses can be tracked via the card,” Allen explained.

“Additionally, the JUTC’s Revenue Monitoring and Franchise Protection teams, through their continuous interaction with the fleet operators on the roads, ensure that all the required standards of the company’s operations are adhered to, which offers another layer of assurance for the commuters,” he said.

“And likewise, commuters using the publicly-owned buses are set to benefit from a programme being worked on between the JUTC and the Ministry of National Security, for members of the security forces to travel on the regular buses at no cost to them, which will provide another layer of security around the JUTC fleet,” Allen stated.

“It’s all part of our efforts as a state-owned entity to bring greater safety and reassurance to our valued commuters who have become quite wary of the perils they face with elements among the competition, who have been plaguing especially women and children for some time now,” he said.

“At the JUTC, we take pride in being structured and efficient, and doing things right and consistent in serving the needs of the large number of commuters who travel with us daily,” Allen said.

The JUTC’s regular operational network spans the KMTR generally, for which the company holds an exclusive operating licence. Its premium service extends further afield with routes into other sections of St Catherine and also Clarendon.