JUTC
(Jamaica Urban Transport Company) certainly has a lot of explaining to do.
They’ve had several incidents with Buses catching afire that have me so scared
that I’ve stopped taking the Bus altogether. I’m terribly afraid of Fire or even
getting burnt, a lot like my fear of enclosed spaces. So a Bus is basically a
travelling deathtrap – hence more reason to walk most of the time!
The incidents of
JUTC buses catching fire, the first one a No. 66 traveling on Hope Road in St
Andrew on Wednesday September 5th 2013 and the second a No. 88
traveling along Arthur Wint Drive on Monday September 16th 2013 as noted
in “Another
JUTC bus catches fire”, published Tuesday, September 17, 2013 9:58 AM, The Jamaica Observer and “Second JUTC bus
catches fire in less than 2 weeks”, published Tuesday September 17,
2013 11:02 am, The Jamaica Gleaner cast doubts on the
level of maintenance being given to the JUTC buses.
]
These
things do not sit well with the Public, having been hit by a fare hike on
Sunday August 25th 2013 as
stated in New
fare increases take effect Published: Sunday August 25, 2013 | 12:21 pm, The
Jamaica Gleaner. Clearly the Buses are in need of maintenance before
any more increases can be demanded of the Jamaican Public. Here are images of the first Bus, the No. 66 traveling
on Hope Road in St Andrew on Wednesday September 5th 2013 that caught fire:
Hopefully
the JUTC will now after these incidents consider the recommendations as
detailed in my blog
article entitled “JUTC
to debut RFID & NFC Readable SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System in
April 2013 - The Last Stand for a Cashless Society to empower the Multi-Modal
Concept”:
1. Revival
of the JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation) Passenger Train and Freight Service to
Carry Goods and Services around the island as suggested 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”.
2. HEART/NTA
JAGAS Automotive School to have them thoroughly overhauled and refurbished and fully
repair the Buses Engines and bodywork on contract
3. 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” as it helps the engines to burn
fuel more efficiently.
The
other recommendations seems to have fallen on deaf ears, as really and truly,
the SmarterCard Cashless Bus Card System could benefit from Mobile Money to
enable students to pay for their Bus fares using a JCUES or other Mobile Money
Provider Service. Most of the students are Teenagers (ages 13 to 18) or
younger, so the Mobile Money makers could have a feature where the underage
students, parents or guardians give them a Prepaid JCUES Account with a fixed
amount of Money for spending.
The
Teenagers would then get a NFC (Near Field Communication) Sticker for their
Prepaid JCUES Account to swipe at the JUTC NFC Reader inside of the bus or the
JUTC could get a JUTC Account, enableing them with the ability to accept
payments for specific bus rides. This way they can not only have their lunch Money
in a cashless form to spend but it would also help to make the JUTC Cashless.
Even
more upsetting is the as-yet to be implemented SmarterCard Cashless
Bus Ticket System, which was supposed to have been implemented from April 2013
as reported in my blog
article entitled “JUTC
to debut RFID & NFC Readable SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System in
April 2013 - The Last Stand for a Cashless Society to empower the Multi-Modal
Concept” is only now being implemented, some four (4) months later!
It’s
apparently to be implemented soon, but with better enforcement to ensure
compliance among the Bus travelling Public, as that wasn’t done with the
original System, which was purely voluntary. Not surprising as we’re gearing up
to introduce Mobile Money in order to make it easier to get the Unbanked to be
a part of the Banking System as stated in my Geezam blog
article entitled “JCUES
Mobile Money brings Cashless Society to the Unbanked as NCB debuts Cheque
munching ATM Machine”.
This
is just to give you an idea of the degree of the challenge facing the JUTC to
get Jamaicans to adopt a Cashless System. Jamaicans apparently aren’t embracing
the Cashless Society concept of using Credit and Debit Cards or even putting
their Money into a bank. Thus getting them to adopt the new SmarterCard System
is going to be very interesting!
Interestingly,
the JUTC is embarking on a novel idea; distributing the SmarterCards in the
High Schools to teenagers (ages 13 to 17) with the option of having the student’s
picture placed on the SmarterCard. In effect personalization of the SmarterCard
and hereby making it the first card many of them will ever own as stated in the
article “JUTC
to replace 'Smart Cards' - Clarke”, published Monday,
September 16, 2013 by COREY
ROBINSON Observer staff reporter, The
Jamaica Observer.
This
is a brilliant idea, as along with my suggestion to use Mobile Money Payments
for JUTC Buses, as it’ll get the Teenagers (ages 13 to 17) and Millennials
(ages 18 to 28) used to the idea of Credit and Debit Cards as well as the
concept of Mobile Money and Cashless that by the time they are working, it’ll
be second nature for them to have a Bank Account instead of spending Cash, thus
ushering in the Age of the Cashless Society in Jamaica.
This
in the process along with the implementation of Mobile Money will help to
reduce the Unbanked and make it easier for them to consider E-Commerce websites
and be self-employed as entrepreneurs as stated in my blog
article entitled “How
Jamaicans can set up a Payment Gateway in order to process Credit Card
purchases - E-Commerce the main Catalyst for Increasing Jamaica's Internet
Penetration”.
“Park
and Ride” where residents of Portmore park their Cars and take the Bus to work
and are then picked up later is also set for wide-scale implementation as
stated in “'Park
and Ride’ your way to savings, JUTC urges”, published
Thursday, September 12, 2013 11:23 AM by Anika Richards, The Jamaica Observer,
as in initial test runs it’s proven successful in 2012.
How
the JUTC handles what’s being thrown on its plate remains to be seen. But to
have a more efficient operation, there has to be efficiency in everything.
Improved efficiency in the Mechanical Systems in the Buses in terms of the Type
of Fuel used as LPG burns more efficiently than Gasoline or Diesel. Improved
efficiency in terms of the collection of fares, which can only be achieved by
going Cashless via a more tightly enforced SmarterCard Cashless Bus System and
accepting Mobile Money Payments!
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