The Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS), operated a municipal bus service for the Kingston Metropolitan Area, from 1953 until it was wound up in 1983.
Public transport before the Omnibus Service Kingston's first form of public transport was a mule-drawn tram system, which began operating in 1872. In June 1898, the existing mule car service in Kingston was phased out and a transition to electric trams, initially operated by the West India Electric Company, and latterly by the Jamaica Public Service Company. This transition to the electric tram was completed on March 31, 1899. This tram service continued to operate, but the inflexibility of a tram service could not keep pace with a growing city, and the tram service ceased on August 7, 1948.Last Trams, The Daily Gleaner, August 7th, 1948. Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston's first bus service operated by a company called Jamaica Utilities commenced on August 8, 1948.Last Trams, The Daily Gleaner, August 7th, 1948. Initially communities served included, Rockfort, Hagley Park, Mountain View and Three Miles. The service operated by Jamaica Utilities was unsatisfactory, mainly due to the poor condition in which the fleet was maintained. Efforts to get overseas professional advisers was rejected by the House of Representatives as were efforts to get financial support from government.House Rejects Move for Transport Experts, The Daily Gleaner, December 28th, 1950. Kingston, Jamaica.
The government eventually revoked the franchise of Jamaica Utilities,Has Jamaica Utilities Failed? The Daily Gleaner, May 2nd, 1953, Kingston, Jamaica paving the way for the takeover of bus service in Kingston by the Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS) on December 15, 1953.New Bus Co. takes over December 15, The Daily Gleaner, July 9th, 1953, Kingston, Jamaica.
Inception and replacement The Jamaica Omnibus Service was originally formed by three British companies in 1953: British Electric Traction, Close Brothers, and United Transport. JOS was nationalised by the government of Jamaica in 1974.Button, Kenneth J., Hensher, David A. (2001). Handbook of Transport Systems and Traffic Control, p. 273. Emerald Group Publishers, Bingley, UK. .(1979). Statistical Yearbook of Jamaica 1979., p. 413. Jamaica. Department of Statistics.
The JOS was replaced by a hodgepodge system of private operator owned buses, and franchisees,Bouin, O., Michalet, Ch.-A., (1991). Rebalancing the Public and Private Sectors: Developing Country Experience, p. 250. OECD Publishing, Paris. . which provided very unreliable and unstructured servicesCervero, Robert. (2004-01). Informal Transport in the Developing World, p. 203. United Nations Publishers. . and was very unpopular with the public.JOS cuts Service Monday in Closing Down Plan, The Daily Gleaner, August 27th, 1983, Kingston, Jamaica. In 1998, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) was established and continues operations presently.
Fleet and infrastructure
The JOS inherited a very dilapidated depot and bus infrastructure from Jamaica Utilities, and the JOS gradually built new facilities, including a depot at Lyndhurst Road and upgraded the existing depot on Industrial Terrace. The JOS also refurbished the existing US built fleet with British built Leyland Engines. By the late 1970s the entire fleet consisted of various models of British built Leyland buses.
Route network At its peak, the JOS had a fleet of over 600 buses, and serviced an area ranging from Spanish Town and Portmore in St. Catherine in the western extremities of the Greater Kingston area, Border, Mt. Charles, Irish Town and Mavis Bank in north rural St. Andrew, Port Royal to the south, and Bull Bay (10 Miles) in east rural St. Andrew.JOS Routes and Frequencies, Page 3, The Sunday Gleaner, April 13th 1980, Kingson Jamaica.
A partial listing of JOS routes;
Route Numbers Origin to Outward Destination via 1 City Centre to Harbour View West Windward Road, Mineral Baths 2 City Centre to Harbour View East Windward Road, Mineral Baths, Harbor View West 3 City Centre to Constant Spring Cross Roads, Half Way Tree 5 City Centre to Cross Roads Slipe Road 6 City Centre to August Town Cross Roads, Matilda's Corner, Papine 8 City Centre to Waterhouse Spanish Town Road, Three Miles 11 City Centre to Parks Road Red Hills Road, Swain Spring, Cooper's Hill, Rock Hall 12 Barbican Place to Jack's Hill Village Gayles House 14 City Centre to Barbican Cross Roads, Lady Musgrave Road, Kings Gate 15 Cross Roads to Balmagie Rousseau Road, Delacree Road, Waltham Gardens 16 City Centre to Jones Town Slipe Pen Road, Studley Park Road 17 City Centre to Denham Town Slipe Pen Road, Arnett Gardens 18 City Centre to Greenwich Town Beckford Street, Darling Street, Spanish Town Road 20 Railway Station to Rollington Town Rae Town, Passmore Town, Elleston Road 21 City Centre to Norman Gardens Windward Road, Lucas Road 22 City Centre to Mona Heights South Camp Road, Cross Roads, Matilda's Corner 23 City Centre to Fernandez Avenue North Street, Franklin Town 24 City Centre to Rennock Lodge Windward Road, Wareika Road 25 City Centre to Rockfort Commission Road East Queen Street, Windward Road 26 City Centre to Eden Gardens North Street, South Camp Road, Merrion Road, Deanery Road 27 City Centre to Half Way Tree Windward Road, Mountain View Avenue, Trafalgar Road 28 City Centre to Vineyard Town (Lexington Avenue) North Street, South Camp Road, Merrion Road, Deanery Road 29 City Centre to Papine Windward Road, Mountain View Avenue, Old Hope Road, Matilda's Corner 30 City Centre to Golden Spring Cross Roads, Constant Spring, Red Gal Ring, Stony Hill 31 Constant Spring to Border Old Stony Hill Road, Golden Spring, Lawrence Tavern 32 Constant Spring to Parks Road Red Gal Ring, Stony Hill, Cavaliers, Salisbury Plain 33 City Centre to Rock Hall Cross Roads, Red Hills Road, Forrest Hills, Red Hills 34 Constant Spring to Mt. Pleasant Diamond Road, Golden Spring, Mt. Airy 35 City Centre to Havendale Red Hills Road, Whitehall Avenue, Mannings Hill Road 36 City Centre to Norbrook Cross Roads, Half Way Tree, Camperdown, Shortwood Road 37 City Centre to Meadowbrook Cross Roads, Half Way Tree, Dunrobin Avenue, Red Hills Road 38 Cross Roads to Havendale (Michigan Close) New Kingston, Mannings Hill Road 39 Cross Roads to Meadowbrook Estate Dunrobin Avenue, Bakery Gates 40 City Centre to Pembroke Hall Spanish Town Road, Waltham Park Road, Molynes Road 43 City Centre to Valentine Gardens Lyndhurst Road, Half Way Tree, Arlene Gardens 51 City Centre to Cross Roads South Camp Road, Camp Road 52 City Centre to Omara Road Spanish Town Road, Maxfield Avenue 53 City Centre to Richmond Park Spanish Town Road, Maxfield Avenue 54 City Centre to Barbican Spanish Town Road, Half Way Tree, West Kings House Road 55 Cross Roads (Circular) Brentford Road, Caledonia Crescent, South Camp Road 60 City Centre to Gordon Town Cross Roads, Matilda's Corner, Papine 61 Papine to Redlight Cooperage, Irish Town 62 Papine to Mt. Charles Gordon Town, Mavis Bank 65 City Centre to August Town Cross Roads, Matilda's Corner, Mona Road 67 Cross Roads to Hope Pastures Arthur Wint Drive, Rosevelt Avenue, Hopefield Avenue 70 City Centre to Papine via Three Miles Spanish Town Road, Three Miles, Half Way Tree X77 East/North Parades (Circular) Windward Road, Mountain View Avenue, Mona Road, August Town, Papine, Old Hope Road, Half Way Tree, Dunrobin Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Patrick City, Marcus Garvey Drive X80 City Centre to Spanish Town Beckford Street, East Avenue, Free Zone, Edgewater, Independence City, Gregory Park, X81 City Centre to Spanish Town Beckford Street, East Avenue, Free Zone, Independence City, Naggo Head X82 City Centre to Gregory Park Beckford Street, East Avenue, Free Zone, Fort Agusta, Independence City X83 City Centre to Bayside Centre Beckford Street, East Avenue, Free Zone, Fort Agusta, Independence City X84 City Centre to Waterford Beckford Street, East Avenue, Free Zone, Fort Agusta, Causeway X85 City Centre to Naggo Head Beckford Street, East Avenue, Free Zone, Independence City X86 City Centre to Spanish Town Spanish Town Road, Marcus Garvey Drive 91 City Centre to Duhaney Park Three Miles, Four Miles, Weymouth Drive 92 City Centre to Patrick City Spanish Town Road, Weymouth Drive 93 City Centre to Six Miles Cross Roads, Half Way Tree, Washington Boulevard 94 Cross Roads to Washington Gardens Half Way Tree, Washington Boulevard 95 Cross Roads to Duhaney Park Half Way Tree, Washington Boulevard X97 City Centre to Norman Manley Airport Windward Road, Harbour Head, Palisadoes Road X98 City Centre to Bull Bay Windward Road, Harbour Head, Seven Miles X99 City Centre to Port Royal Windward Road, Harbour Head, Palisadoes Road, Norman Manley Airport
References