Part 3: The Key Stakeholders Required To Make This Plan Work
The Jamaican People
The vast majority of the public will tell you that they are dissatisfied with the level of public transportation customer service and experience they receive, and for NTAG this is also a problem that must be fixed if the sector is to grow and fulfil its mandate to the Jamaican people.
“We need to quit treating transportation subsidies as a drain on public funds and instead view them as strategic investments that generate huge social, economic, and environmental returns. If one public service [could] be said to symbolise the frustration driving social unrest, it [was] public transportation”.
Alberto Moreno, former president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
This public dissatisfaction with the low and poor customer experience in the public transportation sector has led NTAG to establish a clear position and mandate that “Every Jamaican Deserves To Have Access To A Modern Tech Driven Public Transportation Service That Is Safe, Comfortable, Cost Effective, Efficient And Reliable.”
“The more efficient the public transportation becomes is the more efficient workers become; they reach work on time. They do not have to spend two hours or maybe 30 minutes in traffic”
Dr. Lawrence Nicholson The University Of The West Indies
The 2030 Vision as envisioned by NTAG embraces three key elements:
Technology: will significantly improve efficiency within the sector and allow for a more seamless distribution and access to information and service via the smartphone.
A Cashless System: will provide higher levels of security for the Transporters, who are now forced to carry around large wads of cash on a daily basis, making them targets for criminals. This will also allow passengers and customers to conduct transactions via their smartphones and reduce the need to walk with cash.
Scheduled Times: will allow passengers and customers to better plan their departure and arrival times for both business and personal matters with No More Squeeze Up, and On Time Departures. On the courier side this will allow for increased timely and organised delivery schedules.
A week after the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) announced that it had repaired nearly 100 buses for the new academic year, commuters said they are still baffled with the lengthy wait times to get to their destinations.
“I have only seen two buses in the 30 minutes and they are coming packed. I brought my daughter to school this morning from 5:00, on the number 16 in Portmore. I am trying to go back home but no JUTC. Anything I can get right now, I will take,”
“A bus should leave town about 7:15 am but I am not seeing that bus. Normally, what I have to do is come out earlier and catch the 6:30 bus because after that you don’t get another bus until 8:30 am. This has been the case from summer — but it is worse now,”
“About an hour now, no bus nuh come. Every week is the same problem. From it reach certain hours — 9:00 am, 10:00 am, or even 1:00 pm, yuh suffer fi get a bus. Sometimes when mi out here mi haffi turn round back, cyaan get no bus and cancel my plans because the time pass; mi cyaan go again,”
The 2030 Vision is also supported by the following 7 Minimum Service Levels For The Customer And Passengers.
1. Availability:
In this world of 24-7 activity, the acceptable availability standard has been raised.
Customers expect information and service at their fingertips; when they need it and
where they need it.
2. Courtesy:
In creating amazing customer experiences, courtesy goes far beyond having nice manners and smiling. There is courtesy in the way our Transporters behave that yes, includes the observable traits of pleasant tone, nice words, welcoming and friendly
body language, high levels of personal hygiene, dress code and appearance and importantly a clean vehicle among other things.
3. Consistency:
Customers appreciate consistency in service and services. This poses a challenge
when Transporters go out of their way or bend a policy to please a customer.
4. Accuracy:
Providing and communicating correct information to customers is imperative to deliver at least the minimum level of service. Customers and passengers will make decisions and act upon the information they receive, and receiving inaccurate information could potentially make a customer go down a very wrong and inefficient
path…leading to poor customer experiences.
5. Responsiveness:
Readily reacting to customers and passengers in a timely manner to their needs or requests, and consistently communicating progress of this request is very important to them. No one wants their requests to go into an abyss, void of communication or acknowledgement.
6. Efficiency:
The efficient use of resources whether it be human, financial, time, etc. will inevitably lead to delivering great service to our customers’ and passengers.
7. Safety and Security:
Peace of mind is very important to our customers’ and passengers, and so they expect at all times to Experience Safe, Comfortable, Economical, Efficient & Reliable Service.
NTAG will ensure that all Transporters go through an Introduction and Familiarization session before joining the team as a Transporter. The sessions cover the role and responsibility of the Transporter to the passenger, how to use the Smartphone and Application, customer service and expectations, and basic business skills among other things. All relevant documents must be submitted and be approved by NTAG in order to make the Driver Active as a Transporter.
Next Part 4: The Key Stakeholders Required To Make This Plan Work – Investors and Owners
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