The link for the YouTube recordings for Day 1 and Day 3 of the symposium:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAXN4oXIZz4&list=PL6WwOm5uzepNZCzI9eo_mhiQT2Q0OK8GW
1 Comment
-by Dr. Trevor Townsend
The recent death of Ashanti Riley, allegedly at the hands of a person who is reported to be a “PH” driver and the subsequent proposals for “regulation” of the service made by the Minister of Works and Transport demonstrate the need for the State to finally take on its responsibility for planning and management of public transportation in Trinidad and Tobago. The unfortunate criminal event has highlighted that there are many areas in the country without adequate access to public transport. It highlights that residential and commercial development has taken place without the requisite implementation of adequate facilities and services to transport people who are not private car users. It has been observed that even developments e.g. public sporting facilities, do not have a broad enough assessment of how people will travel to and from these facilities other than by their own private car. The public transportation or Transit sector includes buses, maxi-taxis, taxis, “PH” cars and TNCs such as UBER and TTRideshare. Over the years, the “PH” operators have been expanding their reach and on several routes, they now compete directly with legitimate taxis and maxi-taxis. A recent survey done by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering on the East-West Corridor revealed the following:- • 9% of commuters use PH as their main mode of travel compared to14% maxi-taxi, 12% taxi and 1% bus. • Where commuters only use one mode of travel in the commute 7.9% use PH, 5.6% maxi-taxi, 9.3% use taxi, 0.1% use bus. • The gender split of PH users is 31% male and 69% female. Therefore significantly higher numbers of PH car users are female. We have long indicated that the existence and prevalence of the “PH” system is a symptom of the failure of the state to adequately plan and manage the public transportation sector. Even the current plans outlined by the Honourable Minister of Works and Transport for a regulatory system fail to address the fundamental weakness. What is required, first and foremost, is the development of a Transit Authority tasked with the responsibility of planning, administering and coordinating the public transportation sector. Passing new laws and regulations is NOT management and planning. The institutional weakness is glaring if a number of questions are asked:- (1) Which specific agency is responsible for the management, planning, design and regulation of the public transportation sector? (2) Who heads that agency? (3) What are the roles, skills and competencies of the persons who work on a day-to-day basis within the agency? (4) What national transportation policies are guiding the agency in carrying out its duties? The answers to those questions are:- (1) The Ministry. That is there is no Department, Division, Authority or otherwise under the Ministry of Works & Transport with that responsibility. (2) The Minister. That is there is no Technical, Administrative or Professional person whose responsibility is to run such an organization. (3) No such persons with the necessary skills and competencies have been employed in the Ministry since there is no organization in which they can function. (4) No such policies exist. So while there are many suggestions, ideas and opinions about how “PH” can be “regularized”, any new regulations will be made against a backdrop of no policy, no implementing and monitoring agency, no day-to-day data collection and analysis, no understanding of stakeholders’ requirements and no planning for the future. The Ministry of Works and Transport is organized and staffed to design and plan Highways, (Highways Division, and PURE), to design plans for short term traffic management (Traffic Management Branch), to license vehicles and drivers (Transport Division) and to operate buses (PTSC). None of these agencies have the institutional capability of managing and planning the public transportation system. It should be noted that the need for a Transit Authority was identified as a Strategic Initiative under Theme III in the Vision 2030 National Development Strategy 2016 – 2030. Of course the Authority will be guided by a National Transportation Plan, also identified as a strategic initiative, which should address areas such as (1) the role of private sector providers (2) the targeted use of subsidies to encourage efficient travel behaviour and (3) minimum levels of public transportation service supply to communities. We can solve the transportation crisis by developing and implementing proper policies aimed at ensuring proper service levels for both urban and rural dwellers without a debilitating drain on the state coffers. We need to support these policies by strategic institutions with clear mandates, authority and accountability. Our population is under 1.5million people - that is not high. We have the necessary resources and knowledge, what we need is the will to take decisive action to change the current course of “laissez-faire” or “uniformed” policy making and replace it by scientific data-driven approaches aimed at attaining measurable objectives. Trevor Townsend Dr. Trevor Townsend F.APETT, F.ITE, F.CIHT Senior Lecturer in Transportation Engineering, UWI Chair, APETT Transportation Sub-Committee -Mr. Paul Bachan Whether it is the bumper to bumper traffic, the lack of an overarching public transit network, or the thriving non-compliant private hired (PH) vehicles - there are issues in Trinidad & Tobago’s transportation system. Actions are required to address these complex issues. Actions to: - Improve safety for transit users, pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles - Improve reliability of transit service - Improve accessibility for all users alike - Reduce greenhouse gas emissions - Reduce the need for personal vehicle ownership - Improve integrated public land use - Create a user-friendly service for locals and foreigners - Improve the quality of life for all To address these actions, there must be a plan. Trinidad & Tobago has not been governed by an approved National Transportation Plan in over thirty (30) years. And that does not mean the previous plan was adequate. The original National Transportation Plan (NTP) was created in 1967 with a lifespan of 20 years. In layman's terms, the primary focus of the plan was to cumulatively increase the bus fleet on a yearly basis over the lifespan. However, the 1967 NTP lacked a phasing plan to justify this expansion and there was no overarching public transit network. Other prevalent issues with this plan was a lack of connectivity with land-use and transportation planning. Although there have been attempts to update to the plan, such as the National Internal Transportation Policy (1988), the attempted update in 1996 and most recently the rejected 2005 Comprehensive National Transportation Study (CNTS), T&T is currently not governed by an approved transportation plan. There are issues in Trinidad & Tobago’s transportation system. Fortunately, in recent years we have seen the horizon of a potential turning point on this issue. In 2019 the Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT) created a 5-year Strategic Plan in line with fulfilling the goals of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago’s Vision 2030 (c. 2016): - Goal #1 within the Strategic Plan – Provide a safe, integrated and sustainable multi-modal transport system that contributes to the socio-economic growth and development of T&T. o Subgoal #1.1.6 – Develop a National Transportation Plan and Policy. MOWT has projected to have the award of the consulting assignment for the NTP by the end of 2020, pending Cabinet approval, and completion in 2023. This creation of a NTP has been supported by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure, formed in 2015. Furthermore, the Joint Committee has recommended that MOWT proceed post-haste with the development of the NTP. Although goals and dates have been identified in this realm, we are not yet steady on the right path. We have been here before. The 2005 CNTS was intended to kick-start the development of national transportation needs with short- and long-term goals. As aforementioned, this study’s findings were never approved, and the subject never matured enough to create a governing plan. There needs to be public engagement and pressure to ensure deliverables are met, commitments are upheld and that a progressive NTP is approved. That is why public education on this topic is paramount to its success. Every large-scale project has a planning phase to identify the issues, goals, constraints, strategies, financial investments and the principles for implementation. Major provinces and states in North America complete extensive long range transportation planning to ensure both continuity amongst various communities and linkage over a 30+ year span. To complement this master plan, short range transportation planning is completed to set foreseeable subgoals that feed into the primary long range plan. Transportation Planning involves collection of data and forecasting to determine the issues of today and the potential changes in demand, land-use, and human patterns. Transportation planning also involves widespread community outreach through stakeholder engagement. Public consultation is required to maintain a democratic society, one in which there is active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life. This thorough process of engagement, modeling, analysis and reporting is required to create a master transportation plan. A plan that takes into account all modes of transportation, makes use of modern transportation technologies, integrates local and regional transit, works to ease congestion and commute times, and promotes transit supportive development. A plan to create a better future. There needs to be a governing body that can execute this plan. Trinidad & Tobago has never had a governing Transit Authority. The Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) was founded in 1965 to provide stated-owned commercial bus service. The Public Transport Service Act (No. 11; 1965) mandated that the service provide safe, clean and inexpensive transport service for the people Trinidad & Tobago. The mandate did not elaborate on support for sustainable development. Furthermore, a 2018 IMACS study stated that public bus service accounts for only 15% of daily trips in Trinidad. Therefore PTSC is only responsible for a fraction of the transit system and has no jurisdiction over private taxis or maxi-taxis. The Transport Division of the MOWT guides the strategic direction of PTSC through its policies and is responsible for the licensing and inspection of private taxis. However, the private taxis sector is essentially a deregulated market that operate independently and managed based on supply and demand. In a research article by the University of Toronto’s Civil Engineering department, it has been argued that there are four key pillars to achieving more sustainable transportation. One of the key pillars is the establishment of a governing structure whose mandate, responsibility, power and support are aligned with achieving sustainable transportation development. Otherwise, a common problem is often the division of responsibility between land use planning and transportation ministries. In T&T there are currently multiple ministries that play a role in transportation planning. They include the Ministry of Rural Development and Urban Local Government, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Planning and Development and of course the Ministry of Works and Transport. But there is no governing transportation body. Recently, the previously referenced Joint Committee appointed by the Parliament recognized this issue and in a report to the ministries, strongly recommended the creation of a governing Transit Authority. The MOWT responded in agreement with this recommendation. This is further highlighted as a strategic initiative in the GOTT’s Vision 2030 to improve regulatory framework. To fulfill the GOTT’s Vision 2030 strategic initiative, there needs to be a publicly available action plan towards the creation of a Transit Authority. This is not a new issue as local transportation experts have been advocating for mass changes to the public transit network governance. Transit Authorities are established all over the world to develop and integrate multi-modal transportation plans for their governing regions, and plan investment strategies. Transit Authorities are created with mandates, responsibilities, power and support aligned with achieving sustainable transportation development. A Trinidad & Tobago Transit Authority could ensure that history does not repeat itself and that the long overdue NTP is published. It would be the Authorities responsibility to initiate, plan, procure, design, execute, operate and maintain a mass transit system that strives towards the short- and long-range goals of the NTP. There needs to be public engagement and pressure to ensure appropriate actions are taken to establish a Trinidad & Tobago Transit Authority. That is why public education on this topic is paramount to its success. On September 10, 2020 the Government‘s Roadmap to Recovery – Phase 2 Report indicated three pillars to support ambitions of steering the population to a new economy and new society. The first pillar states the need to diversify and transform the economy, under which there is a reference to shift the focus to mass transit and other non-automotive options. Investing in a logical mass transit solution can have tremendous impacts on the economy, as has been studied and can be further explored. T&T’s complex transportation issues are not unsolvable. It is of vital importance that we understand the key issues and prioritize their steady progression to address the continuous transportation system crisis Before we can achieve a successful transportation network, we must aspire. by Dr. Rae Furlonge Dr. Rae Julien Furlonge has been involved in professional practice in transportation planning and traffic engineering for more than 34 years in both the public and private sectors within Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean Region. These are the slides from a recent webinar that Dr Furlonge presented at. Additionally, for those interested, the PDF version is available for download below.
- by Mr. Jared-Marc Tangwell and Mr. Anthony Dick It is undeniable that public transportation plays a fundamental role in the social and economic development of a county. In the Caribbean, and other developing countries, a core part of the public transportation system in the minibus. These privately owned, public transportation modes have found a home in almost every island. From the jitney in the Bahamas to the maxi taxi in Trinidad, these minibuses provide a service that captive travellers completely depend on daily Bahamian Jitney (photo credit). Trinidad maxi taxi (photo credit) The minibus is the most common type of public transportation mode in the Caribbean. These are reported to be more popular and reliable than the government owned bus, if such a mode even exists in the county. In islands such as St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guyana and Haiti, there is no state-owned public transportation available and the minibus is the prevalent mode, if not the only mode. Haitian tap tap (photo credit) Guyanese minibus (photo credit) Despite the Caribbean islands being unique, it is interesting to observe that the minibus culture has developed in largely the same way. Common characteristics of this culture is reckless driving, colourful language and a generally unsafe system. Although these modes enhance mobility in these countries, the quality of services is often unsatisfactory to users. Despite the challenges that present with para-transit, its advantages should not be overlooked. Paratransit systems are privately owned and are profit driven. Thus, operators will try to make as many trips as possible, in addition to sometimes owning multiple vehicles. Thus, routes tend to be establishing by the demand for service. Furthermore, the number of vehicles operating on a route, increase the frequency of the modes, making it more efficient than the government-owned mode. From the operators’ perspective, it provides opportunities of employment to poor or low-skilled workers thus stimulating socioeconomic growth. Although it does not require large amounts of governmental investment; it can be further incentivized in order to improve the performance through infrastructural development or gas subsidies. Additionally, Due to the unscheduled nature of the system, paratransit systems have much more freedom in the coverage, hours or operation and routes than traditional state-owned systems. This allows for a much more tailored-for-demand approach for the users. The minibus also meets the deficiencies of the government transportation system which at times s does not efficiently service the less densely populated areas. In spite of the negative culture that the minibus has developed over the years, it is still one of the most popular modes in the Caribbean. The minibus serves those captive travellers who don’t have access to private vehicles, and in some cases, is still the chosen alternative, to avoid driving in traffic. Some useful areas of research to help improve the public transportation system are; 1. Methods of improving the public perception of both the minibus system and the government-owned public transit system (where applicable), and whether this improve perception results in increased ridership 2. Will introducing a standard baseline salary for minibus drivers assist in decreasing the reckless driving and overcrowding in vehicles? 3. The feasibility of incorporating a cashless pay system where you pay once at the start of your trip (be it home to work, or work to home), regardless of the number of modes you have to use to reach your destination (for example,in Trinidad some individuals have to use both a maxi taxi and a route taxi to travel from home to work). With the necessary government intervention on the management of these modes, the public transportation system of the different Caribbean islands could be dramatically improved, with a framework built on the use of these minibuses. Barbados minibus (photo credit)
This is the recordings from the seminar hosted by The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering on Revitalising Towns. The presenter, Mr. Ryan Darmanie, gave a wonderful presentation entitled "Intervening to Re-Balance the Urban Eco-System. Mr Darmanie is an urban planning and urban design consultant with a keen interest in urban revitalization, sustainable development, and human-scaled design. He graduated from Colgate University, New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science, before attending Rutgers University, New Jersey, where he earned a Master of City and Regional Planning degree. He has eight years of public and private sector experience, is a regular columnist for the Sunday Newsday, and has been an advocate for local reform in urban planning and design for several years. His focus lies at the intersection of socio-economic and environmental issues that are at the heart of urbanization, and the interventions that are needed to re-balance the urban eco-system. These are the recordings from the Arm Chair Discussion of 2019 Transportation Symposium. On the Panel are Dr. Rae Furlonge, Mr Linus Philips and Mr. Ryan Darmanie. The link below will carry you to the playlist containing all the videos: Arm Chair Discussion -by Dr. Paulson Skerrit Dr. Paulson Skerrit works as a teacher, educator and reading specialist in the area of Reading Education as a Lecturer at the School of Education, The UWI, St. Augustine. His research agenda focuses on reading education for struggling readers including the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Dr. Skerrit enjoys road and mountain bike riding and wants to see The UWI St. Augustine campus become home to a safe and vibrant biking community. In 2010, I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee to pursue two post-graduate degrees. From the very first day on campus and during my later venture around the downtown area surrounding the university, a constant in the impressions of my new home, was the strategically placed bicycle racks at the entrances to buildings and parks, and along major streets. The network of greenways around the university and student housing and the clearly marked bicycle lanes on campus along with the signs reminding road users to “share the road” served to etch the idea that bicycle commuting was promoted in Knoxville. As a student, I had already begun to seriously consider this mode of transportation after noting the high cost of automobile parking with no guarantee of actually finding an available park in close proximity to my faculty. Since like most university students, my rental accommodations were within the city limits, it made sense to obtain a bicycle and thus avoid contributing to congestion on and around campus, do my part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit from the many perks that the business community provided to bicycle commuters such as free breakfast or coffee. At the university, we even had our bikes registered with the university police and bicycle permits were fixed to each bike. Over the 5 ½ years I devoted to completing my MS and PhD in Education, I cycled in and around campus, explored the greenways, rode with the University’s Outdoor Program and participated in the city bike-tour rides whenever they were organized. During those years, I visited many other universities while attending and presenting at conferences in the US and also had the opportunity to visit UCL, Oxford and Cambridge in the UK during a 2013 summer semester “study abroad”, and the bicycle as a preferred mode of transportation on and around campus was a refreshing cultural staple of university faculty and students. When I moved back to Trinidad and Tobago with the goal of continuing employment at a university, I was certain to pack up my road and mountain bikes and ship them to home, excited at the prospect of continuing the tradition of bicycling as my primary mode of transportation. My first day on the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus felt very different. I still do not know now, as I failed to notice back then, whether there are any designated bicycle racks on campus. We certainly do not have any bicycle lanes on or around campus, and neither are there greenways or clearly marked bicycle routes indicating to potential bicycle commuters the preferred routes to transport themselves to the university and other major places of interest in St. Augustine. My experience as a bicycling commuter on campus often mirrors the encounters faced on the public roads outside of campus marked with intolerance and unreasonableness of drivers, absence of mindfulness on the part of pedestrians who are often visually and aurally glued to their cellphones, and dangerous road conditions marked by huge potholes and debris. One distinct memory while commuting from university housing on Scott Street, was having to dismount from my bike, lift it up and walk in the drain, as the four lanes of traffic created by parents waiting for and picking up their children left no room on the street for a bicycle to pass. Promoting Bicycling as a preferred Mode of Transportation When access to university education in our country was tied to the socioeconomic status (SES) of one’s parents, we could have perceived the latter as a correlate to the presence of just a few bicycle commuters on campus. However, with gate funding and other measures which have opened up many more opportunities for citizens from lower income brackets to access tertiary education, there should have been an increasing use of bicycles as an opportunity to save money and to have a form of transportation when a private motorized vehicle was not an affordable option- assuming that most students still relocate to the area around the campus while pursuing their degree. The reality is that much needs to be done to encourage the use of the bicycle as means of transportation. The university needs to seriously consider psychosocial and environmental interventions considered to be strong correlates to more active commuting to university (Molina-Garcia et al., 2010). This would be consistent with the call being made by the Ministry of Health to address the epidemic of non-communicable diseases such as obesity at a time when it is reported that more than “half of T&T’s adult population is overweight or obese” (Alexander, 2019; Ransdell et al., 2013). Molina-Garcia et al (2010) listed some of the more viable psychosocial and environmental interventions which have proven to increase active commuting to university, such as instituting high parking fees, and improving route access and the safety of cyclists by means of bike lanes and educational initiatives. I still recall balking at the idea of having to pay exorbitant parking fees, and I feel it is unfair to require commuters whose circumstances deem it necessary to use private motorized transport, to pay high fees for parking tags if such an initiative had as its main objective promoting bicycle commuters. There is though a definite need for marked bike lanes and bike paths given the very narrow roadways on campus. We also critically need the infrastructure for securing and sheltering the bikes. Furthermore, bike paths must also be marked out in the St. Augustine, Curepe, Tunapuna and those other areas surrounding the university, with priority being given to those zones identified as having a high population of UWI students. This would certainly make drivers aware of the need to share the road with cyclists. The use of signs which identify the most bike-friendly streets leading to the university would itself be inviting for students and faculty residing in university housing systems to actively consider biking to campus. It would also help if there were access to maintained bathrooms with showers. Of course, as an institution of learning with a marketing department that targets the attention of the entire university community, bike friendly educational programs should be a recurring feature on The UWI website, its social media platforms and the mass emails sent out. The focus of these programs should include the following: road rules for cyclists; road etiquette for all road users; bike maintenance tips; promoting biking as a key aspect of a healthy lifestyle; awareness of preferred bike routes, bicycle skills for riding in traffic and recreational riding and riding on paths shared with pedestrian traffic. Efforts to encourage the use of bicycles as a means of transportation need to consider the personal and social experiences of riders, the domain of convenience and safety as key facilitators driving any initiative, as these account for much of the variance in cycling behaviours (Ransdell et al., 2013). Making the university community aware of the role that biking plays in getting the daily required number of hours of exercise, its contribution to saving money and the environment and drawing their attention to the marked bike lanes will serve to reduce the effects of the barriers to bicycling as a form of transport. Based on my own experiences and conversations with numerous students as well as faculty and staff who frequently express their admiration for the use of my bike in and around campus, I recognize the critical role of measures the university must take to address the issue of safety for cyclists. This is the major barrier factor that needs to be broken down. I recall my stint at the University of Tennessee and the role of the campus police in enforcing traffic regulations on campus. We felt safe cycling on campus. The UWI campus police need to extend their securing of the campus to include efforts to firmly and consistently address the behaviour of motorists. It is commendable that they have given reminders about the speed limit of 30km/hour but more needs to be done. The very narrow roadways mean that motorists can only share the road when they can keep a minimum of .9 metres or 3 feet away from a cyclist. Very often while riding on campus, drivers appear to be on your heels as they impatiently seek to pass you and tend to violate the recommended safe space between the exposed cyclist and the vehicle. It is even more alarming when vehicles bearing The UWI logo are driven in ways that betray a lack of respect for both law and life, when they especially drive through STOP signs and drive outside the white lines onto the lane of oncoming traffic.
An educational campaign must not only target the facilitators of cycling. Success in encouraging the campus community to use bicycles as the preferred means of transportation must also use bike education initiatives to reduce the barriers. Four major categories of barriers have been reported to contribute the variance in cycling behavior: environmental constraints which point to concerns about safety and convenience; personal constraints revolved around fear of having a bike stolen, personal appearance and unpredictable weather; other factors centred around distance and time; and the lack of bike and path access (Ransdell et al., 2013). Of course, some expenditure would be needed to alleviate some the barriers identified above and this would be an opportunity to liaise with the Tunapuna Regional Corporation (TRC), the biking clubs, the Guild, landlords and local businesses to mobilize the resources needed to identify and mark the biking routes, and to build bike racks and bike shelters on campus and at student apartment buildings. Of course the university would need to lead the way and the SPEC department should consider making available a set of bikes that can be used for organized rides and both short-term and long-term rentals. The New Jersey Bicycle & Pedestrian Resource Center (2012) made recommendations to encourage bicycling among college students and I found a few culturally relevant for The UWI campus: provide bike friendly education programs that promote cycling and safety (Marketing and the Transportation Website); create bike share or rental programs to make it easy to obtain a bike (SPEC and local bike shops); construct bicycle infrastructure that include bike lanes and bike parking stations on campus (Engineering and Facilities); make the streets safer with marked lanes and traffic calming signs (TRC); create incentives to encourage cycling as a primary mode of transportation (Rituals, Starbucks and other local businesses); improve links between cycling and other modes of transportation (PTSC); and promote a culture of cycling (SPEC). “Simple changes in the way transportation design is approached would have a marked effect on taking cycling from leisure to practical transportation” (Nicholas, 2016, p. 216). For us at The UWI, steps taken to blitz the campus community with bike friendly educational programs, put in place the needed infrastructure, promote safe cycling conditions and encourage faculty who live in the surrounding areas to lead by example could be our immediate contributions to the simple changes needed. Currently, I see many more cyclists on campus late at nights or in the early morning using their bicycles for recreation. I eagerly await a shift to the practical use of the bicycle as the primary mode of transportation. This post is a synopsis of a presentation made by Ms Leah Wright at the Conference on the Economy (COTE) 2019 conference, hosted by The Department of Economics at The University of the West Indies. Transportation plays an important role in shaping a country's economy. When the transportation is efficient, it contributes to economic and social growth. On the other hand, an inadequate transportation system, particularly in terms of reliability, mobility and capacity, can lead to severe economic costs and negatively influence the overall quality of life. Needless to say, the state of a country's public transportation system, says a great deal Public Transportation is heavily underused, especially in Developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This is mainly because public transit struggles to provide travellers with the convenience and flexibility that private cars are capable of. The autocentric nature of most countries, including Trinidad, has lead to the neglect of the public transportation system, causing the deterioration of the quality of public transit. Thus, many people who live within these regions have a negative connotation with public transit. Sustainability is currently an overarching goal for many governments. Policy makers have found that public transportation is a more sustainable alternative because the focus is on moving people and not vehicles. This renewed interest in public transportation has influenced improvements in the area. Most of the focus has been improving the vehicular characteristics, such as travel time. However, this is not the full extent of the public transportation system and little focus has been placed on the type and quality of transfer stations. As we know, the public transportation system in Trinidad is dominated by para-transit modes. The system is also set up in such a way that a single public transportation journey consists of at least 2 different modes, and these transfer stations are usually not within the same vicinity. These areas are generally uncovered and roadside. Furthermore, these transfer stations are typically seen as uncomfortable and unsafe to traverse at certain times. These problems add to the issues with public transportation, making it more difficult to get drivers to leave their cars and use public transportation. This research aims to address the consequences of poor quality public transportation which includes the need for many transfers in Trinidad. We will be looking at the perception of the public transportation to travellers and the impact of transfer time, both perceived and actual, on mode choice. A (household) travel behaviour survey was conducted in January 2018 and consisted of approximately 500 individuals. Most of the sample had a household income between $9,000 and $22,000 TT, and consisted of mainly 3-person households. Though approximately 97% of the sample reported having at least one car in the household, roughly 80% indicated using private car in their daily journey. Though the sample was relatively homogeneous, we were still able to show that private car users and public transportation users had very different travel patterns. Private car users predominantly had 2 trips in their work tours, while public transportation users had up to 7 trips in their tours (A tour is defined as movement to and from the same location, and in the case we used 'home' as base). This high number of trips in PT tours is due to the walking trips within tours. For e.g the figure below shows a typical home to work journey for both private car users and public transportation users. For a private car user, that journey consists of leaving home, getting in their vehicle, driving to work, and parking within such close proximity to their workplace that walking was negligible. However, for a public transportation user, the same home to work journey consist of (at a minimum) leaving home, walking to a public transportation stand, waiting on the driver, traversing to work (with possible stops in between), reaching the next public transportation stand, then walking to work. Thus it was found that the private car users had multipurpose tours, where a stop indicated a change in purpose, while public transportation tours were multi-stop. That is, a single purpose, with numerous stops usually indicating a change in mode. From the data we were able to determine the mean in-vehicle time (IVT) and the mean transfer time for each type of user. Excluding the PH taxi, the transfer time for the remaining public transportation modes were an average of 35% of the total trip time, compared to 0% for the private car There is also a large disparity between the perceived IVT and actual IVT, where the perceived time is almost twice the actual time in some cases, as shown below. These large differences in perceived versus actual, show the very low perception of the public transportation system by car users. We were also able to determine the actual and perceived transfer times for each type of user, and mode. It was found that for most modes, private car users overestimated the transfer times and public transportation users underestimated the transfer times. Surprisingly, for the PTSC Bus, it seemed like the private car users had more faith in the bus than regular public transit users. In conclusion, this study highlighted some important points about the public transportation system in Trinidad. To begin with, the actual transfer time for PT users is significant. Furthermore, it is that is perceived to be worse by car users, the people we are trying to encourage to use public transit.
A poor transfer station indicates a poor quality public transportation system. This means, regardless of how efficient the public transit mode is, if the transfer station is seen as poor quality, the entire system is deemed unfit. Not only does this discourage car users from using public transit, but it makes the private care more attractive to the average public transit user, increasing auto use and inevitably increasing the time spent in the congestion. This supports the vicious cycle of continued neglect and deterioration of the public transit, and the quality of life of those captive public transportation users. Furthermore, the issues of the "first mile" and "last mile", where most transfers occur, need to be addressed by different policies to help change the negative perception of public transportation and increase sustainability of the overall transportation system. |
AuthorsVarious individuals will be contributing to this platform Archives
January 2021
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