Traveling across Jamaica has just been elevated to a new level of comfort, convenience, and safety with the introduction of JUTA Express powered by InterMetroOne. This premium bus and coach service, available through the InterMetroOne app, is set to revolutionize travel for both visitors to the island and locals alike, offering a seamless and luxurious way to navigate Jamaica’s main towns.

A Legacy of Excellence

The Jamaica Union of Travellers Association (J.U.T.A.) has been a cornerstone of Jamaican transportation since its inception in 1974. With chapters in major locations such as Mandeville, Portland, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Falmouth, Negril, and Lucea, J.U.T.A. boasts a fleet of over 6,500 vehicles, making it the largest transportation company in the Caribbean. Known for its superior customer service, safe and courteous operators, and exceptional staff, J.U.T.A. has set the standard in public transportation. Their commitment to excellence has earned them numerous awards and a sterling reputation among tourists, locals, and corporate clients alike.

Unmatched Comfort and Safety

At JUTA Express, powered by InterMetroOne, your safety and satisfaction are our top priorities. By partnering with J.U.T.A. we ensure that every journey is handled by professional and dedicated operators who are committed to your well-being. From the moment you board until you reach your destination, you can rest assured that we have your comfort and security covered.

Comprehensive Services

JUTA Express offers a broad range of services designed to meet the diverse needs of travelers. Whether you are commuting for work, heading to school, or embarking on a group tour, we have the perfect transportation solution for you. Our services include:

• Ground Transportation: Reliable and efficient travel across Jamaica’s main towns.
• Tourism Transportation: Seamless connections to and from major tourist destinations.
• Staff and Student Contracts: Dependable transport solutions for educational institutions and businesses.
• Group Tours and Fun Days: Enjoy organized and hassle-free excursions.
• Airport Transfers: Stress-free transport to and from Jamaica’s national airports.
• Conventions and Meetings: Coordinated travel for corporate events and large gatherings.
• Luxury Coach Buses: Accommodations for delayed flights and special occasions.

Book with Ease Using InterMetroOne

The InterMetroOne app makes booking your travel with JUTA Express simple and convenient. Available on both Google Play and the App Store, the app provides a user-friendly interface where you can plan and manage your trips with ease. With just a few taps, you can schedule rides, track your journey in real-time, and enjoy exclusive perks and rewards.

Why Choose JUTA Express Powered by InterMetroOne?

1. Professional Service: Experience the best in Jamaican transportation with J.U.T.A.’s highly trained and courteous operators.
2. Safety and Security: Travel with peace of mind, knowing that your well-being is our top priority.
3. Comfort and Convenience: Enjoy spacious, air-conditioned buses with complimentary snacks and drinks.
4. Seamless Integration: Book, track, and manage your trips effortlessly with the InterMetroOne app.
5. Trusted Legacy: Benefit from J.U.T.A.’s decades of experience and award-winning service.

Join Us on a Journey of Excellence

Whether you are a visitor exploring the vibrant culture of Jamaica or a local navigating your daily commute, JUTA Express powered by InterMetroOne is your ideal travel companion. Download the InterMetroOne app today and discover a new standard of transportation that combines the reliability of J.U.T.A. with the innovative technology of InterMetroOne.

Experience the Difference. Travel with JUTA Express Powered by InterMetroOne.   

JUTA’s transportation solution

As a Jamaican employed in an organisation, you are worried about the future of our nation. It appears as if our country is stumbling along, barely keeping its head above water. At the same time, you are aware of the power of a corporate vision.
Why hasn’t someone done the same for our 2.8 million people on the island, and the other 2+ million in the Diaspora?

The good news is that something is already in place in the form of Vision 2030. But why isn’t it changing your everyday experience?

The truth is that we need help. The two main things Jamaicans care most about – economy and crime – seem not to have progressed for decades. Instead, we want the hyper-growth of Trinidad-2004 and Guyana-2023. Or maybe even the steady high performance of the Bahamas.

Or perhaps more importantly, we envy the low crime rates of Barbados or Cayman (formerly a Jamaican protectorate.) At some point, we led all these countries in these areas.

Today, we are working hard not to slip into the same zone as Haiti.

If our leading companies can accomplish so much long-term success, why can’t our country, we wonder? While a direct comparison is unfair, maybe there are a few things we can learn from best practices accepted in your organisation.

A Joined Up, Far-Away Future

A “joined-up” future is one that lots of stakeholders contribute to creating. In a company, it means engaging the board, executives, staff, customers, suppliers, regulators, local communities and more.

Shouldn’t our country do the same?

Based on my experience and queries of colleagues outside government…we don’t know that we already have a joined-up faraway future…at least on paper. In fact, the process used to create Vision 2030 Jamaica from 2003-9 is a world-class model. As such, I have shared it at in-person and online strategy conferences as a case study.

Perhaps you recognise the summary statement: “the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.” In times gone, it was the tagline of speeches given by the Governor General, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and many others.

But I looked over the recent Budget Debate notes. I struggled to find much of a mention. A Google search didn’t help. Here are a few ways business people at all levels could intervene now to prevent what former leaders of our country seem to be telling us…this is too important to allow it to be eaten up in regular chakka-chakka.

Why the urgency?

With six or so years remaining until we cross the finish line in 2030, we can’t afford to waste a single moment in mid-race. Remember when Miller-Uibo glanced up at the screen and lost her lead in the 400m final of the 2017 World Championships? We are likely to stumble into defeat also as a nation, unless we pay attention to the following.

A Divisive Election – You and I watch the bitter combat underway in the USA. It appears that cooperation towards common goals is impossible. Within a year, our political parties will try to win the next election by emphasising their differences. This is natural. But it’s the opposite of the intent of Vision 2030 Jamaica. Just imagine if the board of your company were divided into opposing camps. Let’s intervene so that their attention remains on what is most important.

Continuous Inspiration – Your ability to recite our National Pledge and Anthem were picked up as a child. We could elevate Vision 2030 Jamaica to that level of importance, starting with the Forward by Dr. Wesley Hughes, which states in part:

“Today, our children, from the tiny boy in Aboukir, St. Ann, to the teenage girl in Cave, Westmoreland, have access to technologies that were once considered science fiction. They seek opportunities to realise their full potential. This Plan (vision) is to ensure that, as a society, we do not fail them. “

Updated Business-like Measures – How can we know the progress we have made from 2009-2023? Are the measurable results listed in the document beyond reach? Do we deserve an A-? or a D+?

How about fresh, intuitive measures of success which tell us whether or not Jamaica is becoming “the place of choice”? Let’s measure the length of lines outside the US and Canadian Embassies for those seeking permanent residency and how they are growing or shrinking.

Wheeling and Coming Again – Companies have no problem resetting fresh objectives when the old ones no longer do the job. In business, a strategy that is not working is replaced as soon as it’s found to be lacking.

We can do the same for Vision 2030 Jamaica to keep it relevant. This is the beauty of long-term strategic planning.

An honest read of the original document reveals that certain assumptions about the government’s capacity to lead the effort were unquestioned. Today, after over a decade of effort, we have learned much. For example, it’s hard to argue that the planning done in 2009 was enough.

While we once led the world in long-term national planning, we aren’t doing the same in the more difficult world of national strategizing and execution. But there’s time.

As the clock ticks down to 2030, things are likely to become more awkward for all of us. As you may imagine,. the human tendency is to avoid the issue entirely, hoping it goes away.

That may yet happen. But if we don’t confront the gaps in our initial attempt to create a joined-up, faraway vision, we’ll block our citizens from ever believing in a national vision again.

In fact, it would be better if it were declared null and void, than ignored. At least that would have some integrity and enable us to move on to a better national vision, lessons earned.

Better National Strategic Planning

And that is perhaps the biggest lesson for all concerned. We Jamaicans say that we are great starters, but poor finishers. In other words, we know how to kick things off. But when the going gets tough, we aren’t strong at bringing them to fruition.

Said differently, we don’t know how to keep promises just because we made them.

The point here is that Vision 2030, with some five to six years remaining, puts us in an awkward spot. But that’s a lie. We have put ourselves in an awkward spot.

At some point we were strong in envisioning great things. Like a company who creates BHAGs, our executive team gave its sacred honor to accomplish a great thing, like the framers of the Declaration of Independence.

However, we haven’t put in place mechanisms sufficient to rescue our current situation. At the current rate, we won’t be closer to being a “place of choice” than we were in 2009.

In a company it’s easier to find individuals or a team of leaders who may hold themselves accountable for a game-changing result. Often, the metrics are clear.

Unfortunately, no such clarity exists around Vision 2030. And given our impending election fever, it may not come from politicians. Instead, it’s time for business to step up and bring sound strategic planning to the accomplishment of the most important outcomes of our national lifetimes.

Let’s inspire each other to intervene so we can have what we already
know we want. It won’t happen any other way.

Francis Wade is the founder of the Jump Leap Long-Term Strategy newsletter and podcast, and operates a management consulting firm.

Part 5: Drivers And Conductors – Inability To Attract And Retain Suitable and Qualified Drivers And Conductors.

In his budget presentation on Tuesday, march 8, 2022 Nigel Clarke Minister of Finance and the Public Service spoke of the “Inability To Attract And Retain Talent In The Public Sector. It is generally agreed that public sector compensation is not competitive. Public sector compensation, as currently constructed, hinders the Government’s ability to attract and retain talent in the public sector. Those who serve in the public sector do so mainly out of service to country and you will hear the comments from time to time that they are subsidizing government operations. In this regard, trade unions have been advocating for decades for better wages and conditions for public sector workers.”

The Public Transportation sector is also facing a similar dilemma, that of the Inability To Attract And Retain Suitable and Qualified Drivers And Conductors.

“I am focusing on eliminating indiscipline in the transport sector and restoring the railway system. The public transportation system is critical for productivity, and when workers utilise the vehicles they should enter work feeling motivated, and operators in the sector must accept the responsibility that is required from them. We are going to lift our standards in this country, treating people with respect, treating them like human beings, and when they end up at work they feel happy and end up being more productive. Commuters must be able to travel in comfort, and that work will be done to reposition the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), as the public transport system is central for students and workers.”
Hon. Audley Shaw Minister of Transport and Mining

As far as NTAG is concerned, and the vast majority of investors in the sector agree, the quality of the available pool of talent from which the sector sources human resources for these roles is grossly inadequate and in need of immediate overhauling. Addressing longstanding issues of job security, working conditions, equity, uneven application of increases, and inadequate salaries is an immediate and urgent priority of NTAG.

One thing Drivers and Conductors in the Public Transportation Sector all have in common is that they all believe that they are not adequately or fairly compensated.
This is a problem.

A vast majority of the public will tell you that they are dissatisfied with the level of public transportation service they receive.
This is also a problem.

Both these problems are related and as a sector we have to address BOTH problems and that is what NTAG proposes to do as part of its vision 2030 plan.

Transport operators who ply sections of St Andrew West Rural withdrew their services on Monday, leaving students and commuters stranded in Half-Way Tree, Stony Hill and other areas. Poor road conditions, seized buses and a demand for fare increase have been cited among the reasons for the strike action.”

Currently drivers and conductors are considered to be independent contractors, as they can choose when, where and how often they work. However, in exchange, they have no job security, vacation pay or other benefits such as pension and health insurance for themselves and family members.
This must change!

NTAG proposes as part of its vision 2030 plan that all registered companies operating in the public transportation sector, as a part of their key strategy execution, must ensure that all independent contractors and operators working in their company have the option and opportunity for job security, vacation pay and other benefits such as pension and health insurance for themselves and family members. This includes payroll payments on a weekly or every two-week basis to allow for accumulated income allowing for better allocation of income for saving, investments, statutory payments and importantly a pay slip. A pay slip provides proof of consistent income allowing for loan applications and other financial requirements.

NTAG will play a major role in ensuring that standards of entry are maintained at a suitable level, and that appropriate training opportunies are always available.

A key feature of this is a project NTAG is working on to develop a cloud based National Transporter Database of Driver and Conductors.

Problem Definition: There is said to be over 200,000 Available Independent Drivers of Public Passenger And Commercial Vehicles who do not own their own vehicle, and will drive for Stakeholders – Investor, Owner And Operator.

However, there is no National Central Addressable And Available Database that can be accessed by these and other stakeholders to view suitable candidates for employment and engagement. In addition, there is no way to reliably determine the work history, experience and expertise of these drivers, and so engagement is often a hit and miss situation. The vast majority of these drivers are transient in that they are not stable in their employment and are known to frequently move around, driving for different investors, owners and operators.

Proposed Solution: The creation of a NTAG National Central Addressable And Available Database that can be accessed by these stakeholders to view suitable candidates for employment and engagement.

A Bulletin Board will also be incorporated allowing Investor, Owner And Operator to post available positions and for Available Independent Drivers to view and apply.

Stakeholders:

National Transporters Alliance Group: Owners and operators of the proposed National Central Addressable And Available Database and responsible for vetting and uploading Available Independent Drivers into the system.

Available Independent Drivers and Conductors: who will apply and have their relevant information uploaded to the database, and pay an annual fee to maintain listing. They will also be able to access and view ONLY their records and file in the database, ratings, comments and recommendations from Investor, Owner And Operator. Ratings and comments from other parties such as passengers and customers should also be available.

Investor, Owner And Operator: These individuals or companies own and operate a single vehicle or a fleet of vehicles, and are seeking to engage Available Independent Drivers. They will apply and have their relevant information uploaded to the database, and pay an annual fee to maintain their listing, and will be able to access and view ONLY their records and file in the database, ratings, comments and recommendations from Available Independent Driver and Conductors. They will NOT have access to another Investor, Owner And Operator information in the database.

They will be able to access and view all Available Independent Driver and Conductors with a limited view of the records and files in the database, ratings, comments and recommendations. Ratings and comments from other parties such as passengers and customers should also be available.

Available Independent Drivers should be able to view limited information on these stakeholders to determine for themselves the suitability of these individuals as employers.

Information and Data Capture: This can begin during the NTAG membership onboarding process as the same information will be required.

Next Part 6: The Ministry of Transport & The Transport Authority

Next Part 4: The Key Stakeholders Required To Make This Plan Work – Investors and Owners – To Achieve Vision 2030 For The Public Transportation Sector A New Business Model Is Needed Now…NTAG

Investors and Owners

The Vision 2030 Jamaica – National Development Plan identifies extensive and high-quality infrastructure as a pillar of international competitiveness that: enables the efficient functioning of markets for goods, services and labour; increases the productivity of economic processes; and improves decision-making by entrepreneurs and other economic actors.

The returns to investment in physical infrastructure tend to be high in countries at Jamaica’s income level, especially considering the relative underinvestment in physical infrastructure in recent decades. These higher growth rates eventually increase the size of the economy and the levels of funding available for other services such as health and education over the medium and long term. High-quality infrastructure contributes to social and environmental goals, by improving access to public services, reducing negative environmental impacts and supporting the sustainable use of natural resources.

NTAG’s position is that if the Transport Sector Plan for Vision 2030 Jamaica is going to ensure the development of world-class transport infrastructure and services that contribute to the competitiveness of our producers and improved quality of life for our people, then it must provide for and facilities an environment for entrepreneurs to invest with a reasonable expectation for a return on their investment.

These entrepreneurs according to NTAG covers Investors and Owners in the Public and Commercial Transportation Sector operating as or through Registered Limited Liability Companies as license holders incorporating all classes of road licenses.

NTAG’s position is that as a private sector group of individual investors and operators all the changes it has outlined so far will allow for among other things the following:

1. More Investment: To achieve the 2030 goal and vision significantly more investment will have to be made to build out a modern and efficient fleet of vehicles, supported by a team of well-trained and compensated drivers and conductors.

Allowing investors to structure their business in a way that would facilitate accessing funding via the stock market will be a key driver for investment and funding to facilitate and accelerate growth.

2. ESOP: Allowing all stakeholders in the sector an opportunity to secure a stake in the profitable growth of the sector will allow for greater alignment of interest. NTAG wants to see drivers and conductors offered opportunies to invest by way of equity participation in the companies they are working and contributing to.

3. Transportation Centers: Importantly the Public and Private Transportation Sector will work with the Government in a Public Private Partnership to build out and operate suitable located Transportation Centers. There is clear mutual benefit in this.

“A major part of the problem is that the Transport Authority is issuing licenses and not regulating with any vision. There are some 4000 to 5000 public passenger vehicles terminating in Montego bay daily, but the terminal centre does not even have the capacity for 700 units. The failure of the authorities to establish adequate facilities and control the influx of unregulated or robot taxis in the system have resulted in parking violations and a continuous cat and mouse game with the Police and Transport Authority officers. This fuels allegations of corruption against members of both state entities, who are seen as enablers of the chaos on the roadway. The facilities provided are woefully inadequate based on the number of vehicles operating in the parish and the enforcement is weak. The routes currently terminate anywhere in the city and unless we have a proper transportation system it will never be solved.” Deon Chance, President St. James Taxi Association.

According to the Vision 2030 Jamaica – National Development Plan additional transport centres are planned for other areas of the island, although these are not directly under the Ministry’s portfolio. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is spearheading plans for a Transport centre in Downtown Kingston. Significantly, there are also proposals by Local Government Authorities to construct municipal transportation centres in areas such as Spaldings, Clarendon and Darliston, Westmoreland.

4. Professionalization of the sector: Making public transportation more acceptable as a viable career choice and helping younger people make a success of the public transport trade is key to NTAG’s vison for 2030. Supporting the development of new ideas, and celebrating achievements by Transporters is also crucial to this development.

“I see a public transportation system where the players in the industry will understand that this is not just a means to ‘eat a food’. It is a business that we are delivering and we must be able to provide the highest standard of public transportation.”
Willard Hylton Managing Director Transport Authority

5. Routes: NTAG’s view is that while routes will continue to be determined by the Transport Authority based on national population requirements, entrepreneurs and investors will be able to apply for other routes they would like to operate on. Routes should not be exclusive, allowing more than one company to operate on the route. This allows for healthy competition and importantly provides the public with real choice in transportation services islandwide.

7. Fare Structure: To ensure an open free market with fares, NTAG believes operators should offer clearly differentiated services so as not to charge the same fare on the same route. Fares must be noticeable and distinctly different.

Different route prices will be encouraged by NTAG, encouraging investors to establish and operate differentiated services in support of price differences. This will allow the consumer to have choices and for operators to compete on service and customer satisfaction.

Importantly NTAG sees the system of differenced route prices as a self-check mechanism that will encourage competition and discourage price fixing and collusion in price setting.

8. Application for routes:

Taxi Associations: There is a widespread view within the sector that the vast majority of the current taxi associations are not delivering the expected value and type of services intended.

The Transport Authority engages and uses the over 30 route taxi associations islandwide to help manage the annual renewal and application for new operating road licences. The Associations as member organsions are to also provide other member services and benefits, which drivers and conductors claims many do not do.

As such NTAG is proposing that the current association system be replaced to one using technology and registered limited liability companies, with board-based ownerships in the form of shareholdings from its members.

Transport Authority will therefore monitor and regulate the sector through Registered Limited Liability Companies and would allow for applications to be submitted and processed online digitally.

Registered Limited Liability Companies will be able to apply to the Transport Authority for operators licenses for Passenger Services only or Passenger and Courier Services, to be used and deployed as its business model and plan dictates.

Individual Owners, Operators and investors not operating as a registered company will continue to apply to the Transport Authority for individual operator’s license for Passenger Services only or Passenger and Courier Services. This can either be submitted and processed online digitally on an individual basis or through a registered limited liability company.

These individual Owners, Operators, and investors with a valid license in hand can now choose to work with a registered limited liability company that best suits their requirements. Terms and conditions to be agreed between the parties.

Next Part 5: Drivers And Conductors – Inability To Attract And Retain Suitable and Qualified Drivers And Conductors.

Part 3: The Jamaican People Deserves Better – To Achieve Vision 2030 For The Public Transportation Sector A New Business Model Is Needed Now…NTAG

Part 3: The Key Stakeholders Required To Make This Plan Work

The Jamaican People

The vast majority of the public will tell you that they are dissatisfied with the level of public transportation customer service and experience they receive, and for NTAG this is also a problem that must be fixed if the sector is to grow and fulfil its mandate to the Jamaican people.

“We need to quit treating transportation subsidies as a drain on public funds and instead view them as strategic investments that generate huge social, economic, and environmental returns. If one public service [could] be said to symbolise the frustration driving social unrest, it [was] public transportation”.
Alberto Moreno, former president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

This public dissatisfaction with the low and poor customer experience in the public transportation sector has led NTAG to establish a clear position and mandate that “Every Jamaican Deserves To Have Access To A Modern Tech Driven Public Transportation Service That Is Safe, Comfortable, Cost Effective, Efficient And Reliable.”

“The more efficient the public transportation becomes is the more efficient workers become; they reach work on time. They do not have to spend two hours or maybe 30 minutes in traffic”
Dr. Lawrence Nicholson The University Of The West Indies

The 2030 Vision as envisioned by NTAG embraces three key elements:

Technology: will significantly improve efficiency within the sector and allow for a more seamless distribution and access to information and service via the smartphone.

A Cashless System: will provide higher levels of security for the Transporters, who are now forced to carry around large wads of cash on a daily basis, making them targets for criminals. This will also allow passengers and customers to conduct transactions via their smartphones and reduce the need to walk with cash.

Scheduled Times: will allow passengers and customers to better plan their departure and arrival times for both business and personal matters with No More Squeeze Up, and On Time Departures. On the courier side this will allow for increased timely and organised delivery schedules.

A week after the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) announced that it had repaired nearly 100 buses for the new academic year, commuters said they are still baffled with the lengthy wait times to get to their destinations.

“I have only seen two buses in the 30 minutes and they are coming packed. I brought my daughter to school this morning from 5:00, on the number 16 in Portmore. I am trying to go back home but no JUTC. Anything I can get right now, I will take,”

“A bus should leave town about 7:15 am but I am not seeing that bus. Normally, what I have to do is come out earlier and catch the 6:30 bus because after that you don’t get another bus until 8:30 am. This has been the case from summer — but it is worse now,”

“About an hour now, no bus nuh come. Every week is the same problem. From it reach certain hours — 9:00 am, 10:00 am, or even 1:00 pm, yuh suffer fi get a bus. Sometimes when mi out here mi haffi turn round back, cyaan get no bus and cancel my plans because the time pass; mi cyaan go again,”

The 2030 Vision is also supported by the following 7 Minimum Service Levels For The Customer And Passengers.

1. Availability:
In this world of 24-7 activity, the acceptable availability standard has been raised.
Customers expect information and service at their fingertips; when they need it and
where they need it.

2. Courtesy:
In creating amazing customer experiences, courtesy goes far beyond having nice manners and smiling. There is courtesy in the way our Transporters behave that yes, includes the observable traits of pleasant tone, nice words, welcoming and friendly
body language, high levels of personal hygiene, dress code and appearance and importantly a clean vehicle among other things.

3. Consistency:
Customers appreciate consistency in service and services. This poses a challenge
when Transporters go out of their way or bend a policy to please a customer.

4. Accuracy:
Providing and communicating correct information to customers is imperative to deliver at least the minimum level of service. Customers and passengers will make decisions and act upon the information they receive, and receiving inaccurate information could potentially make a customer go down a very wrong and inefficient
path…leading to poor customer experiences.

5. Responsiveness:
Readily reacting to customers and passengers in a timely manner to their needs or requests, and consistently communicating progress of this request is very important to them. No one wants their requests to go into an abyss, void of communication or acknowledgement.

6. Efficiency:
The efficient use of resources whether it be human, financial, time, etc. will inevitably lead to delivering great service to our customers’ and passengers.

7. Safety and Security:
Peace of mind is very important to our customers’ and passengers, and so they expect at all times to Experience Safe, Comfortable, Economical, Efficient & Reliable Service.

NTAG will ensure that all Transporters go through an Introduction and Familiarization session before joining the team as a Transporter. The sessions cover the role and responsibility of the Transporter to the passenger, how to use the Smartphone and Application, customer service and expectations, and basic business skills among other things. All relevant documents must be submitted and be approved by NTAG in order to make the Driver Active as a Transporter.

Next Part 4: The Key Stakeholders Required To Make This Plan Work – Investors and Owners

Next Part 4: The Key Stakeholders Required To Make This Plan Work – Investors and Owners – To Achieve Vision 2030 For The Public Transportation Sector A New Business Model Is Needed Now…NTAG

Part 2: Public Transportation Sector Cannot Survive On One Foot – To Achieve Vision 2030 For The Public Transportation Sector A New Business Model Is Needed Now…NTAG