“The focus is to move to an
entirely cashless system, and we will be increasing the outlets (for Cards)
from the current 30 to 1,200,”
Excerpts
of comments by JUTC Communications Manager, Reginald Allen, explaining the new
SmarterCard System as reported in the Jamaica Observer, Friday, September 14,
2012
The GOJ (Government of Jamaica)
seems to have caught Multimodal Transport System fever from former JLP Minister
of Transport Mike Henry. The current Minister of Transport and Works Omar
Davies is not stopping at just reviving the JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation)
Passenger Train Service as reported in my blog article
entitled “GOJ
to revive the JRC Passenger Train Service - Minister Omar Davies' Cirque Du
Soleil Worlds Away advises Railways and Islandwide JUTC Bus Service Not Fade
Away”.
The JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transport
Corporation) seems to be next in line for an upgrade to make it more efficient
by upgrading the SmartCard Cashless Bus Ticket System as had been promised
since December 2010 in “New JUTC fare
collection system coming”, published
The upgrade to the SmartCard
Cashless Bus Ticket System will be named ….you’re gonna love this…..the SmarterCard
Cashless Bus Ticket System as described in “JUTC to go
cashless”, published Friday, September 14, 2012 BY BALFORD HENRY Observer senior reporter, The Jamaica Observer. The official
GOJ Sanctioned announcement from the Horse’s mouth can be found in the JIS
(Jamaica Information Service) article “JUTC
to Introduce Cash-Less System Soon”, published Tuesday,
11 September 2012 11:40 !
And if all goes according to their
implementation timeline, it’ll go live in April 2013 as announced by the JUTC
Board Chairman Reverend Garnet Roper in the article “JUTC's new
cashless system starts April next year”, published 21st December 2012, The Jamaica Star again with official
confirmation from the GOJ’s mouthpiece in “New
JUTC Cashless System in April”, published 21st December
2012, JIS.
The words of JUTC Chairman Rev.
Garnet Roper add additional confirmation of their intent, quote: “We are
anticipating the cashless system coming into effect April 2013 and we hope,
before then, to put in a comprehensive marketing arrangement to advise our
commuters about timetable, scheduling and so on, to make the commuting public
feel that much better about taking the JUTC”.
As a part of this drive to improve
the overall efficiency, the JUTC is also pushing to reduce maintenance
Costs. The JUTC is partnering with the
HEART/NTA JAGAS Automotive School to have them refurbish and repair the Buses
Engines and bodywork on contract as had been promised back in January 2011 as
stated in “JUTC
to renovate Buses here”, published Monday, January 17, 2011 by COREY
ROBINSON Observer staff reporter, The
Jamaica Observer.
This again as per the JUTC Chairman
Reverend Garnett Roper’s comments, quote: “We made some announcements before
about a plan to develop a facility at Lyndhurst Road in Kingston in partnership
with JAGAS HEART, to refurbish buses completely, almost remanufacture, and it
is anticipated that that facility will come into effect either February or
March of 2013, the two agencies are at an advanced stage of signing off on the
agreement”.
Along with the new and improved SmarterCard
Cashless Bus Ticket System, the JUTC also plans to
implement a new system for Portmore residents that will allow them to park
their vehicles in a central location and take the JUTC Bus to work and back
home. Dubbed the “Park and Ride”, it netted millions for the JUTC during the
Jamaica 50th Celebrations and was very popular among persons who
like the lack of clutter due to everyone travelling on the JUTC Shuttle Bus.
This is beginning to sound a lot
like the coming of the Downtown Municipal Transport Centre and the much hoped
for expansion of JUTC’s (Jamaica Urban Transport Center) service islandwide as
reported in my blog
article entitled “JUTC
and the Downtown Municipal Transport Centre - Planes, Trains & Automobiles”.
Back then at its
implementation in 2002, the original SmartCard Cashless Bus Ticket
System faced a lot of criticism as it relates to the
cost of maintenance its implementation. The original SmartCard
System cost US$4.6 million. This was for the installation of the Smart Card
Readers along with the purchase of some 400,000 smart Card installation of
depot readers and supporting Server Equipments as noted in “Smart'
Card for JUTC Buses - after questions about economic viability”, published
04-09-2012 By McPherse Thompson, Staff
Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Still it launched with a bang and
was a instant hit, albeit this rather forward thinking albeit cumbersome and
much loved SmartCard Cashless Bus Ticket System as described in “JUTC
Smart Card a hit on first day”, published Sunday, December 15, 2002 BY
OLIVIA Campbell Observer staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer did not achieve
widespread adoption as had been expected. It only collects 25-30% of Bus Fares;
the SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System is going for the Full 100, Mr. Lex Style!
Many Jamaicans still to this day do
not like the idea of Banking. They especially
dislike having to budget and end up with money tied up in a Card that can only
be used on a Bus and has no other usage elsewhere. Worse, it can only be topped
up at one of JUTC thirty (30) SmartCard Facilities islandwide, making it
cumbersome and inflexible to fit into your schedule to remember to top up when
you have other things to get done as a parent with several children travelling
to school by Bus.
Thus the fact that the Minister of Transport
and Works Omar Davies is following through with this plan to upgrade the SmartCard
Cashless Bus Ticket System with the intent to collect all Bus fares in a
Cashless System is quite interesting, as the cultural hurdles are well known.
Minister of Transport and Works Omar Davies may be taking his cue from the
Banking Sector, which has been trying to woo more of the Unbanked to use their
services via several initiatives via making going Cashless easy and convenient.
The Banking Sector is pounding out
a slow and steady unmistakable drumbeat heralding the coming of a Cashless Society
that being championed by JCCUL (Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League) and
FDI (Foreign Direct Investor) Mozido Jamaica Limited as described in my blog article
entitled “Mozido
Jamaica Limited and Mobile Payments - Plants and Zombies say the Gods must be
Crazy” and my blog
article entitled “JCCUL
JCUES is put on hold by the BOJ - ePayment setback means Mozido has been
Bewitched”.
For the Banks in the post-JDX
(Jamaica Debt Exchange) era it’s a long term bid to create new revenue streams
by getting more of the unbanked to have either a Bank Account or a Credit or
Debit Card. To this end, they are making it easier to have a Credit Card,
slowly lowering the requirements.
One such example is the JNBS
(Jamaica National Building Society) eliminating the need to have a Bank Account
Book and allowing you to conduct Business using your Debit Card only as noted
in my blog
article entitled “JNBS
Introduces Swipe and Go, eliminating Bank Books - Secret of Wings for a
Cashless Society in Jamaica”.
The Banks are also making it more
convenient to do at-home or Banking on the go without you having to come into a
branch. This they’ve achieve by introducing Mobile Banking taking advantage of
the trending in Jamaica towards Blackberries and smartphones as noted in my blog article
entitled “Blackberry
popularity wanes as Jamaicans go smartphones - Android and Apple's Smartphone
Revolution” and my Geezam Blog article
entitled “Apple
iPhone boosts Jamaican smartphone usage as BB goes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy”.
Their products are more palatable and
convenient to one Busy lifestyle with Internet and Mobile Internet Banking
options that are now slowly being enable with Cross-Banking Transfers as
described in my blog
article entitled “CIBC
FirstCaribbean Jamaica and First Global introduce Cross-Network Banking - The
Avengers for the idea of a Cashless Society and Banking Anywhere”.
In the process, the Banks are
empowering e-commerce and slowly setting the stage for an App Economy as
smartphone get more popular in Jamaica such as in the case of the Scotia Visa
Debit Cards as described in my Geezam Blog
article entitled “ScotiaBank’s
VISA Debit Card – Jamaica’s Online E-Commerce Renaissance” and “How to
use Scotia VISA Debit Card Online”
With these ongoing changes in the
Banking Sector in mind, it’s easy to understand why the Ministry of Transport
and Works is pushing Cashless on JUTC Buses: increase efficient in collecting Bus
Fares with the possibility that the JUTC may become self-sufficient of GOJ
Subsidies and possibly begin to break even and start making profit.
The advantages such a SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System are what apparently attracted the
attention of the Ministry of Transport and Works, namely:
1. 100%
fare collection as you can only get on a JUTC Bus if you have a SmarterCard
2. Increased
safety for passengers and staff as there’s no money or change to handle
3. Improve
passenger flow as you’re billed from the Card with no fumbling for change to
give to the Bus Driver
4. Increase
operational efficiency as it reduces the need to check off money received to
ensure Bus Drivers aren’t stealing money
5. Improve
commuter incentive programmes, as it now means that commuter can be rewarded on
their Cards which are personalized to them
Again taking cues from the Banking
Sector, it’ll work as follows:
1. The
SmarterCard will be sold at more outlets, approximately 1,200, in a fashion
akin to a phone Card with an initial fixed amount of credit based on what value
SmartCard you purchased
2. The
commuter will have to do a quick registration to get the Card personalized,
which will cost about JA$100.
3. The
commuter’s SmarterCard main security feature is that it’s RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) and NFC (Near Field Communication) readable as described in my blog article
entitled “NFC
now supports Device-to-device Data Transfers – Swapping Music in the Castle of
My Skin”. Thereby making it impossible to copy
4. As
the SmarterCard is really RFID and NFC Readable, the commuter can board Buses
without even removing the SmarterCard from their pocket.
5. Akin
to the RFID Readable T-Tags at the Toll Plaza as the customer goes through a
dual-proximity RFID/NFC Reader enabled door, it’ll read their SmarterCard. As
they reach the top of the steps on boarding the Bus, a personalized Ticket stub
is printed, as at that point it’s confirmed that the passengers is coming on
board the JUTC Bus
6. The
Bus Ticket printed is also personalized like the SmarterCard; it has the name
of the commuter, the SmarterCard Number, their route, Bus Number, Time and Date
and a Count number printed on it, in case there is any confusion as to who’s Ticket
was printed.
7. The
Bus Tickets’ll be printed in Black and White using a Thermal Printer that
prints on Thermal Paper, which are easier to maintain than Printers that use
ink
The SmarterCard cloning on the Toll
Plaza T-Tag payment method infused with concepts borrowed from the Banking
Sector will make boarding a JUTC Bus more efficient, safer and improves
passenger flow. But it’s the means by which you can top up the SmarterCard and
how the JUTC plans to keep track of their Fare Collection system that had
caught my eye, as it’s Telecoms related.
In fact, in the future it’s tied
into the plans for using the 700MHz Spectrum to provision 4G LTE (Long Term
Evolution) as laid out by Minister of Science Technology Energy and Mining
Phillip Paulwell as described in my blog article
entitled “Phillip
Paulwell allocates 700Mhz and Fiber Optic License for LTE - Broadcasters
effectively on notice for Digital Switch Over” as I shall explain below.
The commuter can top up the SmarterCard
either by:
1. Going
to one of the 1,200 outlets and top up using their VISA Debit Cards, Credit Cards
or using Cash
2. Going
online on a Laptop, PC (Personal computer), smartphone or Tablet and top up
using their VISA Debit Cards, Credit Cards or using Cash.
An alternative convenient form
factor for the SmarterCard may also be a RFID/NFC Sticker, which parents can
attach to their youngest child’s bag, lunchpail or smartphone (Blackberry and
simpler feature phones are popular now with little ones!), enableing them to
travel on their own.
As the Card has NFC, this makes it
an option for payment as well. Commuters can then use the Card to purchase
food, accessories and snacks at the food outlets in the Bus Center at merchants
that have NFC Readers. The SmarterCard
is also a great way to reward commuters who are frequent user.
Winner of promotions or prizes on
offer by the JUTC could receive their notification of winning via the Ticket
stub or even when they go to one of the 1,200 outlets or online on their JUTC
account to top up. Prize money may also be paid out to the SmarterCard, which
they can then use as spendable Cash in a manner similar to a Debit or Credit Card
at merchants that sign on to accept payment via NFC Reader.
Keeping track of Bus Ticket sales
and travel metrics such as the most commuted Routes or travel statistics via
Gender would also be easier with the SmarterCard Cashless
Bus Ticket System. Usually at the end of the day, Bus Ticket sales have to be
check off against the amount of money in the till, a procedure similar to
generating an x-report for a SHARP Cash Register to check off the amount of
money each clerk has made for the day and if any money’s missing.
With the new SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System, this process becomes more like
the POS (Point of Sales) Cash Registers; it’s automatically done over the Wireless
Internet, as most likely the SmarterCard will enable Remote Access to each
SmarterCard Terminal in each Bus. Thus the possibility of the introduction of
Wireless Broadband Internet via Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) on the JUTC Buses powered
by 4G LTE provided for customer on long commutes remains a strong possibility.
Such a service is similar to airplane
Wi-Fi as described in my blog article
entitled “Qualcomm
to create Airplane Wi-Fi named Next Gen-AG using 500MHz of unused 14GHz
spectrum - 300MBps in the Mile High Club” and “Honeywell
partners with Immarsat for In-Flight Satellite Broadband in 2013AD - Konshens
Gal a Bubble for Qualcomm Aiprlane Broadband” and can be used to provide
Remote Tracking and monitoring of the Buses to not only enhance Security but
also make it possible to plan the best routes based on Traffic Congestion on
the road.
The Driver is completely relieved
of having to do any checks on the SmarterCard Terminal installed. All he has to
do is to load the SmarterCard Terminal with Thermal paper and drive. The
SmarterCard Terminal does the rest, both in terms of printing tickets as well
as updating the SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System
Server on Ticket Sales.
But the ultimate savings aside from
the streamlined efficiency that 100% collection of Bus Fares via the SmarterCard
Cashless Bus Ticket System would be in terms of Fuel
and Maintenance. For both the JRC and the JUTC, the use of LNG (Liquid Natural
Gas) as described in my blog article
entitled “JUTC,
Challenger and LNG - Journey to the Center of the Earth” and the use of
Auto LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) as described in my Geezam blog article entitled “Auto LPG as a
Motor Vehicle Fuel” would result in significant cost savings in terms of
Fuel as well as Engine Maintenance.
The SmarterCard Cashless
Bus Ticket System, if done right alongside initiatives to reduce the cost of
Maintenance and Fuel Consumption for JUTC Buses, will be a model for the rest
of the Caribbean to follow. If successfully implemented, the SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System can be ported across to the JRC
(Jamaica Railway Corporation) to also streamline the collection of Fares on
Passenger Trains. Interestingly too, it also sets the stage for the
introduction of Wireless Broadband Internet usage on Buses and Trains.
The SmarterCard Cashless
Bus Ticket System is The Last
Stand (2013) for the Ministry of Transport and Works as it relates to
achieving efficiency in Public Transportation. In the process, the PNP-led
Administrations is on a path to the full implementation of the Multi-Modal
Concept that was originally championed by former JLP Minister of Transport Mike
Henry By then the Cashless Society concept would already be in full bloom as if
Struck by Lightning (2013).
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