On August 27, 2024, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Minister of Finance and Public Service Nigel Clarke, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications, and Transportation Daryl Vaz, and President of the St. Catherine Disabled Persons Association Christine Keene pushed a wheelchair together, assisting a disabled person to board a brand-new bus via a slanted wheelchair ramp. This was the most exciting part of the delivery ceremony held for the 100 units of Golden Dragon CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses that had just arrived and were ready to be put into operation. "We hope these buses will provide more convenient public transportation for the Jamaican people," Andrew Holness said proudly, with the enthusiasm and joy unique to the Caribbean overflowing at the scene. Just half a year ago, Daryl Vaz announced this news to the Jamaican people through a press conference, stating that a large number of buses would be launched in 2024: "An era of efficient, reliable, and comfortable transportation is coming."

Jamaica Eagerly Anticipates Improving Public Transportation Conditions

The 100 units of Golden Dragon buses, with yellow elements from the Jamaican flag as their base color, became one of the most notable protagonists at the delivery ceremony. "The delivery ceremony signifies that our new vehicles are about to be put into operation, and we are extremely honored to contribute Chinese strength to improving Jamaica's public transportation environment. This is also the largest single bus order in the country's history," Wang Jinji, vice president of Golden Dragon International Trading Company, told reporters. The delivery ceremony of these hundred Golden Dragon buses has received significant attention from all levels of Jamaican society.

"This Caribbean country may seem somewhat 'distant' to us." Located in the northwest of the Caribbean, Jamaica is famous for its Blue Mountain Coffee, reggae music, and Usain Bolt, who has almost become a "symbol" of Jamaica. Jamaica has always been a regional trade and shipping center, with tourism, mining, and agriculture being the main economic pillars. Wang Jinji introduced, "Not only does the prosperity of tourism create a high demand for buses in Jamaica, but the country's transportation system also heavily relies on road passenger transport. In Kingston, the capital where we are launching this batch of orders, many people choose public transportation for their daily commutes. The current lines are highly loaded, which reflects the local people's demand for public transportation. Our statistics show that the main bus lines in Kingston have a daily operating mileage of around 300 kilometers, with a peak-hour occupancy rate of 100%. However, relatively speaking, Jamaica's original public transportation infrastructure is not very ideal."

"The existing buses have all been in use for a long time. Many of the buses in the local fleet use chassis from European brands. After more than ten years of high-load operation, coupled with the unsatisfactory road conditions in Jamaica, these vehicles are generally in poor condition. This not only affects the passenger experience but also severely impacts the capacity of the bus lines." Wang Jinji told reporters that due to the severe shortage of public transportation capacity, the commuting needs of residents, especially the school commuting needs of students, have become a concern for Jamaican society. "Whether or not the public transportation conditions can be improved has also become a key factor in demonstrating the current government's governing ability and gaining voter support."

Purchasing new vehicles, renewing the fleet, and enhancing the comfort of public transportation for the public have become important measures for the Jamaican government. It is understandable why Daryl Vaz made such a high-profile "official announcement" previously. However, from confirming the order to loading and shipping the buses, Golden Dragon only had a little over six months.

Deep Cultivation: Understanding Customer Needs Better Than Customers Themselves

"The delivery deadline was indeed very tight, but more crucial than meeting the deadline was recognizing the unique needs of Jamaican customers," Wang Jinji told reporters. "Golden Dragon is not a 'new player' in the Jamaican market. We have been exploring the Jamaican market for nearly 20 years and have previously cooperated on different types of bus orders."

Golden Dragon's technicians have been active in the Jamaican market for 20 years, deeply involved in depots and fleets, understanding user pain points, and continuously trying to understand customer needs.

"Based on our accumulated experience over many years, we have summarized several important demand points in the Jamaican bus market," Wang Jinji said. "The first is the type of energy. Due to considerations for tourism resources, ecological and environmental protection, and fleet operating costs, Jamaica ultimately determined that this batch of buses would use CNG. However, since the local gas stations have limited conditions, the fuel filling speed can affect fleet efficiency and capacity, which has become a key focus for customers. Secondly, we need to perfectly balance the vehicle's body strength, durability, convenience, and comfort. The road conditions in Jamaica are not ideal, but the public has a strong demand for low-floor buses that enhance convenience and comfort. These require our design to balance perfectly while adapting to the road conditions. Another important potential need comes from after-sales parts. Jamaica is geographically far from China. If a vehicle breaks down and parts need to be ordered from China after it is put into operation, whether by sea or air, the cost of these parts will be exorbitant. If public transportation capacity is compromised, the quality and image of Chinese buses will be greatly diminished in the hearts of local people."

"Based on the information collected in the early stage and our understanding of customers' potential needs, we quickly came up with solutions," Wang Jinji told reporters. The R&D and design department made adaptive adjustments and improvements to the fuel filling system and strengthened the body strength. "With Golden Dragon's understanding of urban bus products, as cities develop, low-floor buses are definitely a trend for a better commuting experience. However, given the relatively poor road conditions, balancing the low-floor solution with passability and durability can be considered a highlight of this batch of orders."

Winning Customer Trust with Systematic Strength

"Jamaica is a developing country, and we can empathize with the prime minister's pride when announcing this bus order. This order is the largest single procurement without using foreign loans or guarantees in the country's history," Wang Jinji introduced. "This 'pride' of standing tall with dignity also makes all of us involved in the project think deeply. We sincerely hope they can improve their transportation environment through our products."

This empathy, deeply ingrained in the Chinese people's genes, combined with Golden Dragon's and the Chinese bus industry's systematic and standardized industrial capabilities, has turned into a nearly perfect answer sheet for this developing country.

"Although the customer's needs have many unique aspects, relying on our mature vehicle platform and the rich database accumulated from our years of deep cultivation in various global markets, we quickly completed the design and finalization work," Wang Jinji told reporters. "From our perspective, this order is a natural result of our years of deep cultivation in the Jamaican market, and it is not just an order from Jamaican customers but also their trust and entrustment in us." Golden Dragon's manufacturing capabilities have become the "insurance" for this batch order.

"For this order, a team of five from our Jamaican distributor stayed in Xiamen for two months to ensure delivery quality and timely identification of issues. Not a single fault occurred during the inspection before each vehicle was loaded onto the ship; and when these buses arrived and completed the PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection), there were still no faults," Wang Jinji said.

This deep "consideration for others" ingrained in the Chinese people's genes is reflected in every aspect of this order. "Based on our understanding of local road conditions and the natural environment, we have scientifically estimated which components have a higher failure rate. Therefore, even before these buses arrived, a certain proportion of after-sales parts and components, based on the vehicle type and quantity, had already arrived in the port," Wang Jinji told reporters. "In fact, this also relies on our systematic accumulation. In our system, every order, when generated, will automatically generate a recommended list of after-sales parts and components for Golden Dragon buses based on past experience. We then make targeted adjustments."

"Not only that, but we also found that compared to international counterparts, our after-sales service documentation lacks completeness, detail, and thoroughness, which is even more important given the current trend of highly integrated electrification in buses. This has also become a key area for improvement in this order. We have updated our detailed after-sales service documentation based on our own experience," Wang Jinji introduced. "We have also specifically arranged for three engineers to reside in Jamaica to assist customers in training and communicating with drivers, passengers, and local maintenance engineers, so that they can quickly grasp the vehicle characteristics, maintenance precautions, and other technical details."

"From Golden Dragon's perspective, this hundred-vehicle order in Jamaica is our harvest in the Caribbean market," Wang Jinji believes. "From the perspective of Chinese buses, I think it is the beginning of a new stage for the industry. Chinese buses have been widely recognized overseas. Next, we must adhere to long-term principles, avoid short-sighted behaviors such as vicious competition, rely on our own industrial capabilities, adhere to systematic planning and organization, and sustainably operate overseas markets, providing excellent products and solutions for customers in various countries."

Source : www.chinabuses.org

Editor : Lucy

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