Ministry of Transport & Works

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Reginald Allen (left), Communications Manager at the Ministry of Transport and Works, makes a point during the JIS Think Tank to provide details on the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre. Looking on are: Kirk Finnikin (centre), Service Planning Manager, Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), and Lenworth Simms, Marketing and Sales Manager, JUTC.

Operators of the Half-Way-Tree Transportation Centre will be providing 24-hour security at the centre for the full protection of commuters and other users of the facility.

"We will be very strong on security," declared Victor Green, Manager of the centre.

Mr. Green, who was speaking at a JIS News Think Tank held on (Jan. 3), said the security service will be outsourced and that the tendering process is underway. "As a matter of fact, we are evaluating the tenders now to see which security company will get the contract to provide security for the centre," he informed. He said the centre's security supervisors will oversee the private security guards.

In addition, he informed that there will be a police post located at the administrative building as well as two security kiosks - one located at the entrance of each platform, which will be manned by the contracted security company.

"We can have as many police officers, private security guards in and around the centre but as we go along, we will have to make an appeal to our Jamaican people.

This (transport centre) is something that we have that no other Caribbean island has, and we are going to need the help of everybody in the society, the commuters, the shoppers to help us to keep the centre looking as it is today, five years from now," Mr. Green stated.

As it relates to maintenance, the Transport Centre Manager informed that janitorial service will be outsourced. "This centre is going to be kept in a first world looking condition, meaning it is going to be sparkling five years from now just as it is now, so maintenance is going to be one of our big, big challenges at the centre," he stated.

He also informed that a janitor will be assigned to every restroom on each floor all day, to ensure that the bathrooms are kept up to standard.

The Transport Centre, which is scheduled for opening on January 12, has 29 bus stops created for 60 bus routes and can also accommodate taxis.

Other facilities include 17 commercial shops; six commercial kiosks; a food court; 17 public toilets with two equipped for the disabled; and an office building to accommodate staff from the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, and the Port Authority of Jamaica, which will be managing the terminal.

There is also a ticketing booth for the sale of tickets; a control room, which contains a monitoring console equipped with cameras; while an Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) system to locate buses along a route, which will be integrated with the security and public address systems, will be installed at a later date. Public information screens will also provide passengers with data on scheduled trips.

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