JUTC pulls Sunday buses from Mandeville to Kingston Route 512 starting July 5

Starting Sunday, July 5, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) will no longer operate Route 512 on Sundays. The route links Mandeville with downtown Kingston.

The government-owned operator said the move comes after a wide-ranging look at how the line performs, taking in fare income and how many people ride each day.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the company said Sunday travel on the route has stayed weak. On some runs, as few as seven people boarded; on others, only two.

"At JUTC, we continuously evaluate our services to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our commuters while operating as efficiently as possible. The decision to discontinue Sunday operations on Route 512 was made following careful analysis, which showed consistently low passenger demand," said JUTC Corporate Communications Manager, Shantole Thompson.

"While we understand this change may affect some commuters, it allows us to better allocate our resources to areas where demand is greatest and continue providing safe, reliable, and sustainable public transportation," she added.

Thompson said JUTC will keep studying its network and basing service changes on data, with the aim of improving how it serves riders while using public funds responsibly.