JUTC making moves to stop fuel theft

THE JAMAICA Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) is moving to introduce technology to cauterise the theft of fuel that has left a dent in the already cash-strapped entity.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Audley Shaw, reported that for more than two decades the company has been plagued by fuel theft.

In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament yesterday, Shaw said that the Government is working with a local company to introduce a technology-based solution that will assist in detecting, locating and tracking fuel theft where it occurs.

Despite the serious problem of fuel theft at the JUTC, the company has not been able to place a figure on the size of the problem.

In July 2022, Managing Director of the company, Paul Abrahams, told a meeting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament that the company had been battling pilferage of fuel from its inception.

‘ELUDED US’

“We have tried to quantify pilferage, but it has eluded us, and that is the truth because we run an operation that is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, so two, three o’clock in the morning activities can possibly take place,” he said during a committee meeting last year.

Commenting on the JUTC’s ageing fleet and reduced bus numbers, Shaw told his parliamentary colleagues that the company is currently rolling out an average daily bus run of 163. A fleet of 450 buses is needed.

However, Shaw said that 50 buses, 45 diesel and five electric, are expected to arrive in the island by the end of this month.

Additionally, he said that 20 compressed natural gas-fuelled units will be added to the JUTC fleet under a joint arrangement with private sector partners. These units are expected by September.

Further, he indicated that another 70 buses are to be repaired and placed back on the road.

Shaw also pointed out that the Government will procure 200 electric buses over the next two years.