Jamaica’s transportation sector is poised for a digital revolution as local bus and taxi operators eagerly anticipate integrating the nation’s own central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as Jam-Dex.

Jamaica is actively working towards enabling CBDC services on the mobile phones of the general public.

Jamaica’s transportation sector is poised for a digital revolution as local bus and taxi operators eagerly anticipate integrating the nation’s own central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as Jam-Dex. The introduction of Jam-Dex by the Central Bank of Jamaica in 2022 was marked by an airdrop event aimed at accelerating its widespread adoption. Recent developments reveal that Aldo Antonio, co-founder and acting executive chairman of the National Transporters Alliance Group (NTAG), is actively championing the integration of Jam-Dex within the transport community.

Although Jam-Dex holds the potential to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance security for the transportation sector, local reports suggest that the adoption rate among vendors and consumers has been sluggish, causing some hesitation among bus and taxi drivers. Nevertheless, Antonio remains resolutely optimistic about the prospects:

“I see Jam-Dex as something that would be significantly transformative for the public transportation sector and needs to be embraced.”

To ensure the viability of Jam-Dex, Antonio emphasizes the necessity of cultivating a larger customer base willing to embrace the CBDC. The lack of customer interest could discourage merchants, ultimately leading to the abandonment of the digital currency initiative.

Antonio identifies food and transportation as the two key sectors that could drive the everyday usage of Jam-Dex. He elaborates on this concept, stating:

“If we can get them (Jamaicans) moving and paying for transportation using Jam-Dex on a daily basis, it increases the rate at which we can get the digital currency into people’s hands.”

Jamaica to enable CBDC on mobile phones

In addition to enhancing convenience for customers, the widespread adoption of a central bank digital currency also alleviates concerns related to the security risks associated with carrying physical cash or handling exact change. As part of its strategy, Jamaica is actively working towards enabling CBDC services on the mobile phones of the general public. Antonio envisions that, with proper training and implementation, the transportation sector could potentially begin accepting Jam-Dex payments by January, if not earlier.

Approximately 25,000 to 30,000 transportation owners are present in Jamaica, and their participation could significantly expand the reach of Jam-Dex beyond the existing user base of 10,000 vendors and 200,000 individuals who use the CBDC through the Lynk digital wallet.

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/jamaicas-taxi-drivers-embrace-crypto/

Original Source article BY DASHAN HENDRICKS Business content manager hendricksd@jamaicaobserver.com

Jamaica’s central bank digital currency, Jam-Dex, is set to revolutionize how people pay for public transportation in the island nation. Local bus and taxi operators are eager to integrate Jam-Dex into their operations, as it offers convenience, security, and cost-efficiency.

Jam-Dex: Jamaica’s CBDC to Transform the Transportation Sector

Jam-Dex is the name of Jamaica’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), launched by the Bank of Jamaica in 2022. It is a digital form of legal tender that can be used to pay for goods and services, just like cash.

Jam-Dex is not a cryptocurrency, as it is issued and backed by the central bank and does not rely on a decentralized network of computers.

It can be accessed through a digital wallet app called Lynk, which allows users to send and receive Jam-Dex using their mobile phones.

Users can also convert Jam-Dex to cash or vice versa at authorized agents or deposit-taking institutions.

Jam-Dex transactions are fast, secure, and transparent, as they are recorded on a ledger maintained by the central bank.

Jam-Dex: Why is it important for the transportation sector?
The transportation sector is one of the key sectors that could benefit from adopting Jam-Dex, as it could streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance security for drivers and passengers.

Aldo Antonio, co-founder and acting executive chairman of the National Transporters Alliance Group (NTAG), is actively championing the integration of Jam-Dex within the transport community.

“I see Jam-Dex as something that would be significantly transformative for the public transportation sector and needs to be embraced.”

Antonio believes that Jam-Dex could increase customer convenience and satisfaction, as well as reduce the risks associated with carrying physical cash or handling exact change. He also thinks that J

am-Dex could attract more customers to use public transportation, as it offers a modern and innovative way of paying for their rides.

“If we can get them (Jamaicans) moving and paying for transportation using Jam-Dex on a daily basis, it increases the rate at which we can get the digital currency into people’s hands.”

Challenges and Opportunities
Despite the potential benefits of Jam-Dex, its adoption rate among vendors and consumers has been sluggish, causing some hesitation among bus and taxi drivers.

According to local reports, only 10,000 vendors and 200,000 individuals use Jam-Dex through the Lynk app, which is far below the expected target of one million users by the end of 2023.

Antonio acknowledges that there are some challenges to overcome before Jam-Dex can become widely used in the transportation sector.

He cites the need for more education and awareness campaigns and incentives and rewards for drivers and passengers who use Jam-Dex.

He also emphasizes the importance of cultivating a larger customer base willing to embrace the CBDC, as the lack of customer interest could discourage merchants from accepting Jam-Dex.

However, Antonio remains optimistic about the future prospects of Jam-Dex, as he envisions that with proper training and implementation, the transportation sector could potentially begin accepting Jam-Dex payments by January 2024, if not earlier.

He also estimates that there are approximately 25,000 to 30,000 transportation owners in Jamaica whose participation could significantly expand the reach of Jam-Dex beyond the existing user base.

Antonio hopes that Jam-Dex will become a catalyst for digital transformation in Jamaica, as well as a source of pride and identity for Jamaicans.

He said:

“Jam-Dex is something that we should be proud of as Jamaicans because it’s our own digital currency.”

by Victory Emmanuel

Original Source article BY DASHAN HENDRICKS Business content manager hendricksd@jamaicaobserver.com

Transport operators say they are ready to embrace the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) central bank digital currency Jam-Dex, and could do so in time for the new year if things fall in place quickly.

Aldo Antonio, co-founder and acting executive chairman of the National Transporters Alliance Group (NTAG), said he has been lobbying amongst transport owners to embrace Jam-Dex as a means of improving the efficiency of their operation and to reduce costs and security risks.

“I see Jam-Dex as something that would be significantly transformative for the public transportation sector and needs to be embraced,” Antonio told the Jamaica Observer.

But he said he understands if at the moment, his fellow transportation owners are not gung-ho, especially with the low levels of participation of both vendors and consumers using Jam-Dex.

“One of the things that we have recognised at NTAG is that you have to have sufficient numbers of people using Jam-Dex to make it feasible. So, no matter how many merchants there are, if there aren’t sufficient customers using it, then the merchants will become discouraged overtime and abandon it. It is a system which has to be pushed on both ends in an aggressive way because even if you have Jam-Dex through one of the wallets on your phone, if you don’t have enough merchants accepting it, it doesn’t make sense.”

He said he believes getting transport owners to use Jam-Dex as an acceptable means of paying bus and taxi fares will go a far way in helping to proliferate the use of the digital currency.

“We recognise that there are two things that Jamaican people do transaction with every day, that is food and transportation. So, if we can get them moving and paying for transportation using Jam-Dex on a daily basis, it increases the rate at which we can get the digital currency into people’s hands.”

Aldo Antonio, acting executive chairman of the National Transporters Alliance Group, is pushing to have his fellow bus and taxi owners and operators embrace Jam-Dex as a means of payment for rides.

“On the other hand, the bus and taxi operators, they have a major, major challenge on a daily basis, accounting for cash and we know how expensive it is to collect cash, store cash and pay cash to the bank. It is a time-consuming and costly process. With Jam-Dex and the digital wallets, the money goes into your account immediately so you can eliminate those kind of cost factors to worry about.”

He said it will also help to eliminate the worry transport operators have about making change for passengers.

“In most instances, for example, especially in the rural areas, the average fare is like $120 and in most instances, the operators would have been walking around with sufficient coins to make change after a passenger pays the fare or he has to collect a lot of these $20 coins and store them in the car on a daily basis. And so, what you will find sometimes is that they just can’t bother.”

For transport owners he said, leakages would be plugged.

Still, as he pushes to get his fellow transport owners to embrace use of Jam-Dex in their daily operation, Antonio said he understands that some are reticent.

“The obvious reluctance stems from them not seeing it available for them to use for transactions in their daily lives. So, for them, it’s something that people are talking about but they haven’t yet seen it around them. From that perspective, there is a sense of ambivalence, because they don’t see it around them.”

He said if there is sufficient take-up within the sector, passengers would be able to pay fares with Jam-Dex pretty soon.

“It is just a matter of having the facility on their phones. That can be done within the space of about four weeks. With that happening and training happening, then the sector could be in a position by January, if not before, to be able to accept Jam-Dex type payments.”

Antonio estimates that there are 25,000 to 30,000 transport owners in the country who ferry hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis. Currently, Jam-Dex is available amongst 10,000 vendors with 200,000 people having access to the digital currency through the digital wallet Lynk, which is provided by the NCB Financial Group. JN Bank is expected to launch its JN Pay digital wallet before the end of the year and a third financial institution is now testing its digital wallet with the central bank. The central bank’s data show that about $257 million in digital currency is in circulation.

BOJ Governor Richard Byles last Monday expressed disappointment with the roll-out of the digital currency to date, saying he expected it to be more widespread at this stage that it is. Byles said deposit-taking institutions say it cost upwards of US$500,000 to develop the digital wallets to use Jam-Dex, suggesting that the cost has slowed progress in getting the digital currency out in the hands of consumers.

However, for Antonio, the cost of moving, securing and storing physical currency would make such an investment worthwhile if taxi owners and operators get onboard.

“Now you are not going to get everybody in the first go, but as more and more drivers accept it and get more comfortable with it, then you will find that people will gradually move towards it.”

“The sector has been discussing cashless because we recognise the benefits of it, but unless there are enough passengers to use it, they are not going to be too anxious to move towards it.”

Antonio suggests that with the pending fare increase, there is an opportunity for the Government to incentivise people to use Jam-Dex by giving them the digital currency as a credit of about $1,000 to subsidise the fare increase at the initial stage, especially, going into the Christmas period.

“We know, for example, that NCB Financial Group through Lynk has been spending millions of dollars to get people to use the digital currency and now has 10,000 merchants and 200,000 customers. Those numbers really tell you what it will cost to have national adoption and the longer it takes to be adopted is the more reluctant Jamaican population is going to be. We have to make a big splash like a quick sprint. The longer we drag it out, the worse it’s going to get. We need a massive injection to get people onboard.”

“This will also increase the number of financial institutions wanting to offer a digital wallet because their reluctance at this point is that there are not enough people out there to use it to facilitate the investments that are needed to get it going,” he opined.

SOURCE DASHAN HENDRICKS Business content manager hendricksd@jamaicaobserver.com

They’re finally here. Paid driverless taxis got the green light last week from California regulators. Soon, Waymo and Cruise will start charging San Francisco passengers for rides in a car with no driver, at any time of day or night.

It’s easy to forget how far-fetched this would have seemed even a few years ago, when Uber Technologies Inc. sold off its embattled self-driving unit and most autonomous cars struggled to make left turns. But gradually, General Motors Co.’s Cruise and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and built out their self-driving fleets in San Francisco. Previously, the companies could offer driverless rides for free across the city, but only Cruise could charge for rides and under limited circumstances.

Now, both companies will be able to offer self-driving taxis 24/7 to the paying public, clearing the way to make robotaxis a real business. Though many hurdles remain to mass adoption, the City by the Bay will soon become a test case for a new kind of transportation business model.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Cruise Chief Executive Officer Kyle Vogt spoke of the development in lofty terms: “It’s a signal for California that we are going to prioritize progress, versus accepting the tragedy of the status quo on our roads today.”

For those looking for a ride, Waymo says it will start charging for trips in the coming weeks. The company will also begin accepting more riders from its waitlist, which now stretches beyond 100,000. The pricing will be competitive with ride-hail services, it said.

Cruise plans to initially charge for rides between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. across the city (it previously charged for rides only in certain areas). Cruise’s waitlist also stretches into the tens of thousands.

The expansion of robotaxis will add fuel to the debate on how cities need to evolve to cope with mixed traffic. Waymo and Cruise both have hundreds of self-driving cars in operation, and each has emphasized that expansion should be incremental, slow and careful.

There’s reason for both hope and caution. Analysts at BloombergNEF found that in California the vast majority of collisions involving an autonomous vehicle appear not to have been the robotaxi’s fault. Rear-ended collisions were quite common. No human injuries or property damage were reported in 90% of the collisions that occurred while the AV was in self-driving mode.

Still, some people who testified at the public hearing prior to the vote raised concerns about the volume of robotaxis on streets and many labeled the little electric cars as a nuisance. The Teamsters Union, which represents drivers across industries, characterized regulators’ decision as “complete disregard for public safety.”

One statistic does needs to improve: The number of injuries per mile traveled by autonomous vehicles in California is four times higher than the national human average, according to BloombergNEF analysis. However, the sample size is small and the cars drive almost entirely in cities, where collisions are more likely.

For now, the California decision will be viewed as a major milestone for driverless vehicles. It’s also notable that it happened in San Francisco, which has a well-worn reputation for exporting innovation to the rest of the world. As a city resident, I’ve been enjoying riding in Waymos and Cruises for months. One day, maybe the rest of the world will, too. —Ed Ludlow Bloomberg

PHOTO: MICHAEL SLOLEY
Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, addresses the Transport Authority’s Transportation Conference 2023 on June 15 at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters on the Mona Campus, St. Andrew.

The Government is determined to overhaul the public transport sector and create a system that is people-centred, safe and reliable, says Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz.

He said that his vision is for public transportation to be the preferred choice for commuter movement, both for work and leisure.

“The system, therefore, ought to be characterised by efficiency, convenience, safety and security, reliability, affordability and pleasant experiences,” he noted.

The Minister was delivering the main address at the Transport Authority’s Transportation Conference 2023, held on Thursday (June 15) at the University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters in Mona, St. Andrew.

Part of the vision includes boosting the number of buses in the system, with the Minister indicating that he will begin the procurement process for 100 Jamaica Urban Transit Company JUTC buses as the company awaits the arrival of 75 new units, five of which are electric.

He said the system should positively impact the natural environment through the reduction of pollution and reduced traffic congestion.

Restoration of passenger rail to connect Kingston to large population centres, expansion of the services of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), and extending Montego Bay Metro to other townships, are also key elements in achieving the vision.

Minister Vaz pointed out that it is important for laws governing the sector to be up to date, reasonable and enforced.

“The laws must support the best interest of the commuting public, the public passenger operators who invest their time and resources to provide service, the commercial carriers who distribute goods and support manufacturing, other private motorists who share the space on our roads, and last but by no means least, the Transport Authority, the regulating arm of government for the public passenger transport services and commercial carriers,” he said.

He urged private operators in the public transportation system to comply with the Road Traffic Act.

“The culture of lawbreaking, recklessness, and lack of care for the safety of passengers must stop, and I will see to that as one of my mandates as a new Minister. It is unacceptable to see what takes place on the road on a daily basis,” he explained.

The Transportation Conference brought together various stakeholders to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

Minister Vaz said public transport is an integral part of Jamaica’s economy, and bringing all the players together is critical to transforming the transportation landscape.