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Transporting
ideas
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Traffic reaching maximum tolerance
capacity.
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Government construction
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programme one path to solu-tion.
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Improvement and expansion of public transport overdue.
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Change in culture needed.
Tears
came to my eyes last week Monday as I tried to get into Port-of-Spain.
It took me no less than ten minutes to drive from Caroni to
the NP flyover and then almost an hour to get into the city.
Then, as if that was not bad enough, I took another half an
hour looking for a park. By the time I got to my meeting I
was in no mood to talk, or even think.
A couple of days later, I was reminded why I don’t use
Mosquito Creek at midday—traffic for miles as a result
a funeral at the cremation site.
I suppose it is senseless making the point that we have a
traffic problem. However, I would like to avoid discussing
the issue in a void but would prefer to examine the many proposed
solutions and their impact on some of the stakeholders in
the industry.
The main cause of our traffic problem is the fact that so
many people have to venture into Port-of-Spain to work, conduct
business or to acquire goods and services not available elsewhere.
Then there is the situation of one household having multiple
cars and all coming into the capital at the same time. This,
some believe, is as a result of an inefficient and even unreliable
public transport system.
The maxis’ and taxis’ ability to pick up the slack
are nullified by the bottle-necking at the entrance to Port-of-Spain,
or any major town for that matter, on mornings. The effects
of this are more than just getting to work late or burning
too much gas.
One of the main issues is that of productivity and whereas
one might say that people are getting to work on time and
getting the work done, the fact is any improvement in the
transport system may have the effect of improving the quality
of production, if not the quantity.
The initiative to decentralise some aspects of the public
service and the centralising of many government offices will
definitely have a major effect on the traffic problem. The
most obvious is the fact that less people would have to travel
into Port-of-Spain to conduct business.
Those needing to get to the city would no longer have to suffer
the frustration of having to go from one end to the next to
do business in one ministry. For example, the Ministry of
Education has its main office in St Clair but it also has
offices on Frederick, Edward and Pembroke Streets, all of
which I personally visited in one day just to get some simple
information.
The administrative complex being constructed on Richmond Street
would house several of these ministries. So too the Chancery
Lane complex in San Fernando and the government administrative
complex in Siparia.
These are examples of this centralising and decentralising
of government business, which will go a long way in reducing
the need to travel to the city.
The next major initiative would be to fully integrate the
Internet into the public service.
Since many government and private institutions still have
their head offices in Port-of-Spain, this still means that
a significant number of staff would still be moving in and
out of the city at the same time. The new idea of the water
taxi will definitely have the greatest effect here.
Most of the people who work in Port-of-Spain live in south.
The proposal for the water taxis to transport people from
Point Fortin to San Fernando and then to Port-of-Spain would
significantly reduce the traffic on the roads.
The improved monitoring of the Priority Bus Route over time
and the injection of 50 new buses into the system should in
the short-term provide some relief for the travelling public.
What is needed to further improve this situation a flexitime
arrangement—firstly, with the government services and
then private institutions operating out of the capital. This
idea has long been suggested but perhaps the time has come
to at least experiment with it.
The long-term solutions of the mono-rail and the expansion
of the road network will further improve our transporting
efficiency. But I will not dwell on that as the implications
of the those measures deserve an article by itself.
Another reason for the traffic chaos is the amount of cars
on the roads. I could not help but notice that on any given
Saturday, Trincity Mall’s car park is packed to capacity.
At the same time if you go to MovieTowne you cannot find a
park, and at Grand Bazaar one has to spend precious time “hunting”
for a parking spot. On top of that there appears to be the
same amount of cars on the roads at the same time.
While the Government has recently placed some restrictions
on the foreign-used car dealers, something has to be done
about the amount of cars already on the roads. This problem
really finds its roots in our culture rather than logistics,
because to us a car is a indication of status and accomplishment
rather than a means to an ends. But that’s for another
article.
The holistic move to improve the transporting effectiveness
of the country no doubt has far-reaching implications that
affect not only the economy but families and societal culture
as well.
n Wesley George is the
education officer of the
PNM National Youth League
Contact NYL with comments at
nylcolumnguardian@yahoo.com or
editorial committee, National
Youth League, Balisier House,
#1 Tranquillity St, Port-of-Spain
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