-by Dr. Trevor Townsend
1. Introduction. The Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Land and Physical Infrastructure of the Parliament held a public hearing on 26 March 2019. The objectives of the inquiry were as follows:- a. To examine the traffic patterns in Trinidad and Tobago and the respective major contributors to congestion. b. To be apprised of the measures in place to reduce traffic congestion and to determine whether these measures are effective. c. To determine the economic and social costs of traffic congestion; and d. To determine the challenges associated with reducing traffic congestion. The paper attached is an edited copy of the presentation made to the JSC by a team from the Transportation group, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering headed by Senior Lecturer, Dr. Trevor Townsend and including Part-Time Lecturers, Dr. Philbert Morris and Mr. Lacey Williams. 2. Objectives of This Paper. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key issues affecting the operation and development of the Transportation System in Trinidad & Tobago. It will also highlight some of the policy items which need to be addressed going forward in order to improve the functioning of the Transportation system to reduce congestion and to enhance mobility. The paper starts with a brief overview of the different perspectives on congestion 3. Congestion in the Transportation System. There is ample evidence that the road transportation system is currently in crisis. During peak periods both highways and urban arterials are congested; car ownership levels are high and car occupancy levels are low; public transportation systems are under-managed, disorganized and not user friendly, parking in major urban areas is inadequate and uncontrolled and pedestrians and persons with disabilities are frequently left to fend for themselves. In times of crisis, the first response should be a plan. Plans should be based on data and analysis and be informed by an established policy framework. Congestion occurs when the rate of arrival for service at a facility exceeds the rate of service. More generally it is a signal of a dis-equilibrium between demand and supply. In many cases within the transportation system since there is no readily available “market” through which someone who is prepared to pay to avoid congestion can do so, there is a loss of consumer surplus. The dis-equilibrium which causes the congestion may be:- • short term e.g. an accident blocking a lane of a highway, • medium-term e.g. daily commute congestion on heavily travelled routes or • long term based on imbalances in land use and activity locations. It should be stressed that this classification is more of degree rather than kind and the boundaries may be blurred at times. Nevertheless it gives us a good context to examine the causes and possible solutions to the traffic congestion being experienced in all urban areas. 4. Short –Term Congestion Problems. Most modern countries utilize Comprehensive Transportation Systems Management (Traffic Management) to manage the flow of traffic so that more efficient movement may be achieved on the road network and to ensure protection of vulnerable persons and areas from the negative effects of unsafe operations, congestion and overcrowding. These short-term actions are aimed at establishing a priority of usage of existing facilities that is consistent with overall Transportation Policy. The Traffic Engineer needs to intervene using appropriate traffic control devices, traffic regulations, enforcement and low-cost engineering construction. The decisions should be based on timely data-collection and engineering analysis. Traffic Management is not simply a Highway Engineering function but must consider land use, priority to public transport arrangements, aid and priority to pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles, parking control and environmental protection. The analysis and implementation of these short term measures will require an improved traffic management capability and authority. The current institutional arrangement, where the Traffic Management Branch is subsumed under the Highways Division does not support the required function. Furthermore, although the police have a key enforcement role, the proper design of traffic management measures requires engineering expertise. For years, there has been no systematic collection of traffic data in terms of the fundamental traffic characteristics, road accidents and accident blackspot analysis. In the absence of such data, the traffic management plans which have been implemented appear to be ad-hoc and based on a “hit or miss” approach. A recent example of this was the debacle in Sangre Grande where a traffic management plan had to be scrapped after a disastrous first two days of operation. Proper traffic engineering using good data and traffic simulation software for predictive analysis would have prevented such problems. In the current environment, the traffic management function is significantly degraded. As a consequence traffic signals are operating sub-optimally causing unnecessary delays and encouraging flouting of the law, signage and road markings are not up to standard and the multi-million dollar National Traffic Management Centre is underutilized and ineffective. The irony is that the cost of operating a proper traffic management system is a small fraction of what it costs to maintain our highway and secondary road system on annual basis. We recommend the establishment of a Transportation and Traffic Planning Division, headed by a Director and reporting directly to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works & Transport. The Division, once established can be mandated to re-establish a proper functioning traffic management unit and develop and implement a priority listing of short term projects. The Division should also collect and analyse data and engage in medium and long-term transportation planning regarding the entire transport sector & intersecting with land use planning. 5. Medium-term Congestion Problems. 5.1 The Need for a Mass Transit System Trinidad has a relatively well-developed Highway and Main Road System. However, the country has a high per capita vehicle ownership of 500 veh./1000 people. We cannot build enough highways fast enough to solve traffic congestion problems. If mobility of people is the focus then what is required are policies which encourage high occupancy vehicle usage and the development of a Mass Transit System. In March 2016, consultants from the Inter-American Development Bank conducted a high level strategic analysis of potential Mass Transit alternatives to implement in the Trinidad major E-W and N-S corridors. The study had four main objectives. They were as follows:- 1. To confirm the nature of the problem and the suitability of a mass-transit solution. 2. To carry out an analysis of different Mass Transit options (Mass Transit System – MTS) 3. To review existing institutional arrangements for transportation and urban mobility management. 4. To identify and propose complementary actions. The consultants looked at several different technologies for delivering the required Mass Transit services and concluded that a BRT-PBR (Bus Rapid Transit and a Priority Bus Route) is the best bus-based Mass Transit alternative. The BRT-PBR is superior to the Tram-Train (the best rail-based alternative) on 10 of 12 key criteria except capture of auto users (6% more) and comfort/quality. Indeed, the BRT-PBR was found to be superior in terms of cost, ridership, accessibility, flexibility, modularity, non-exclusivity and NPV. The consultants’ recommendations were reviewed in January 2017 by a team of Transportation sector specialists from the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad & Tobago (APETT) who recommended immediate implementation of a BRT-PBR project, starting with the East-West Corridor. In May 2017, The APETT Transport Committee also submitted to the Ministry of Planning & Development a document which detailed a Conceptual Design of a Mass Transit System for the East West Corridor. The same document was later submitted to the Ministry of Works & Transport. As far as we are aware no significant work has been done to implement these recommendations for the establishment of an effective Mass Transit System. 5.2 Other Complementary Initiatives. It should be noted that IDB consultants also recommended a number of short and mid-term initiatives that should be implemented alongside fiscal incentives to decrease private car dependence. These are:- i. Infrastructure. This includes counter-flow dedicated Public Transportation lanes, Urban bus lanes, Grade-separation of critical crossings of the PBR and Park & Ride facilities. ii. Public Transport Management. This includes Reduction of vehicles on the PBR, New Bus Based service contracts, Better maxi-taxi operations and Promoting intermodality. iii. Restricting Car Use. This includes Parking control & use of HOV lanes. Promoting non-motorized mobility in urban areas access to Public Transportation stations. The APETT committee generally agreed with these initiatives and recommended their immediate consideration and a clear action plan for implementation. We endorse these recommendations. 5.3 The Need for Institutional Strengthening There is no institution responsible for the overall planning, management, regulation or co-ordination of the public transportation sector. The State Owned bus company, PTSC, operates 200 buses per day carries 11Mn. pass/year with an over $300Mn. annual subsidy. The bulk of the nation’s public transportation (85%) is supplied by 13,000 privately –owned 4-7 passenger sedans and 5,000 privately-owned 9-25 seater para-transit (maxi-taxi) vehicles. These private operations receive no special subsidy, have assets of over $2.35Bn, carry an estimated 43 Mn. passengers/year and provide an estimated 25,000 jobs. Additionally an unknown number of illegal “PH” taxis operate on rural routes and unsociable hours but also affect the livelihood of legitimate taxis. The existence of this growing “PH” system is an indication of the urgent need for planning and regulation of the sector. Within the Ministry of Works & Transport there is no unit with the responsibility, ability and capability for the collection and analysis of data with respect to passenger demand, quality and cost of service, operator viability and other such measures required for developing and implementing strategic interventions in the sector. We recommend the establishment of a Transit Authority, organized and staffed to carry out this function. This recommendation is not new. It has been made in several documents submitted to the government over the last twenty years including:- (1) The National Internal Transportation Policy, 1996 (Section 5). (2) Vision 2020 Infrastructure Committee Draft Final Report, 2004. (3) A Framework for the Implementation of National Transportation Projects, 2010. 6. Long-term Congestion Problems. Travel is a derived demand based on or desire to participate in activities that are spatially separated. The most regular and highest valued travel is the daily commute from home to work & school. The demands on the transportation system are intrinsically bound to the decisions made about the location of our homes, workplaces and schools as well as and other supporting activities. An integrated land/use/transportation planning approach is necessary to treat with long term transportation sector issues including congestion, mobility and access. This is consistent with the views of The UN Commission for Sustainable Development which identified the elements required for sustainable transportation. Sustainable transport development is based on six pillars. These are (a) Integrated Land/Use Transportation Planning (b) Develop Clean, Safe, Efficient, Affordable Public Transportation Options (c) Ensure Access to Affordable Rural Transport Services (d) Address the mobility needs of special groups e.g. elderly and disabled (e) Facilitate walking & non-motorized transport in urban centers (f) Reduce Air Pollution & Carbon Emissions. We see the effects of poor or non-existent land use/transportation planning around us on a daily basis in the form of (a) Unnecessary Travel, (b) Congestion, (c) Unregulated Development (d) Unregulated para-transit operations and (e) wasteful subsidies that encourage in-efficiency. The government needs to develop and approve an integrated land use/transportation plan based on over-arching development policies to guide decisions over the next 10 – 20 years. 7. Conclusion. 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. We must be careful that the focus on congestion reduction for private car users ignores the plight of public transportation users who are currently not being properly served.
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We have released the much awaited presentations from this year's transportation symposium for you to view. We are currently working on different articles for the website and would like to get your feedback on any topics or issues you want to see discussed. Please complete the brief survey HERE! Feel free to comment under this post any exciting ideas or issues for future posts as well
Attached below is the document summarizing the highlights from the 2019 transportation symposium. We would like to thank those persons who volunteered as rapporteurs for the event. Please comment with any suggestions or ideas you have for future articles and/or events.
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January 2021
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