JUTC probing removal of child from bus

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to the removal of a child from one of its buses last month.

A young boy, who reportedly defecated on himself, boarded a JUTC bus but was removed by the driver after the stench in the air-conditioned bus became unbearable for some of the passengers.

The JUTC, in responding to the situation, which was highlighted in The Gleaner's People's Report on Saturday, said it regretted the unfortunate handling of the incident.

"An investigation has been launched into the incident, and the individual in question has been pulled from active duties for the matter to be resolved and the quality customer service, which the company fosters and consistently strives for, reinforced. Concerted efforts are also being made to establish a structured way of courteously handling such developments in the future," Reginald Allen, manager, marketing and communication, at the bus company said.

Allen went on to point out that the JUTC does not condone inhumane treatment of anyone, especially children.

According to the letter, which detailed the incident, the boy was put off the bus in the late evening and was not refunded his fare. The letter expressed concern that the driver gave no consideration to the personal well-being and safety of the child in getting home.

"It is to be noted that while there are no stated policies within the company on how to handle such a development, there is indeed a policy requirement for our staff to always seek to extend courteous and helpful service to our clients, in this case, the commuters. We certainly do not think the best effort at adhering to that policy was displayed by our staff member on this occasion," Allen added.

Isolated incident

The company argued that the incident was isolated and did not represent a company-wide approach to treating with children and customers in general.

"We hope that the otherwise quality service ... on the unit experienced in the past will allow for a collective acceptance of the

incident as an isolated development that simply swamped the bus operator. No doubt, he was trying to bring comfort to the passengers on a whole, but in doing so, it appears that he did not appreciate that he had a similar duty to the boy, even in his unpleasant state," Allen said.