-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
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-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. |
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January 2021
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