In August 2013 then Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn had sparked hope that the administration was finally going to embrace the concept of government-run public transportation.
Appropriately he had made these remarks on a visit to Region Three, a region perhaps more than any other suffering from the congestion and com-plications of a growing economy and infra-structure still to catch up.
“I have been looking at the traffic situation and the many problems of persons stranded on road-ways en route to work and during the evenings on their way home,” Benn had remarked while announcing that the administration was looking to bring in some big buses as part of a pilot pro-gramme that might eventually see a rollout of a countrywide system.
Ten years on and with no public transportation and thousands of vehicles since registered Guyana is literally running out of road. In this regard it was instructive to see a recent video of President Ali inspecting the Schoonord to Crane bypass and lamenting the delays to what is a very small and straightforward project – 4.1km – which was scheduled for completion in June but judging by the contractors’ responses will miss even the October deadline, despite their solemn pledges. One also wonders when the administration will begin on the long overdue 27km, Schoonord to Parika superhighway – a project that has the potential to transform the region and the nation.
As far back as 2007, when fuel prices were sky high (but still lower than they are now), the government had talked about acquiring 150 large and medium-size passenger buses intended to upgrade the public transportation services. This was quietly dropped when fuel prices went down again a year later.
Then in 2012 Benn was at it again, saying the buses were under “active consideration”. “Active” resulted in no action.
During his time in office President Granger did start the Three Bs programme “Buses, Boats and Bicycles” as part of ensuring children got to and from school safely and without cost. This was ridiculed by the then opposition especially for the green and yellow colours chosen for the buses. But Granger’s mistake with what was a political “no brainer” was his timidity. Describing the criticism as pitiful, he explained that “We don’t have the money to provide school buses” in all the regions, and he was relying on businessmen to donate the buses and bicycles. But for such a popular and highly visible project any smart politician would have found the money. After all, which opposition would dare to block such a righteous initiative?
As a contrast in governance, only three years later VP Jagdeo has “found” over US$1B for the gas to shore project.
Meanwhile it is encouraging to see that PNCR leader Aubrey Norton has pledged, if elected, to provide free buses for school children. This may be something both parties can agree upon.
But really the country needs to go further. Of course saving citizens money on transportation could be a great benefit to them financially but there are equally important non-monetary benefits such as safety and insulating young minds from poor cultural influences. Yes, even in our current smash and grab economy not everything should be about money.
Public buses would meet the great need of children to get to school on time and most importantly in a safe manner; safely both in a decreased chance of being involved in an accident but also safe from the numerous deviant individuals who prey upon minors, and from the morally corrupting culture surround-ing certain minibuses.
Secondly, there is no proper form of transportation for those in wheelchairs, and many pensioners and disabled people are discouraged from travelling by the minibus operators. A Guyana Chronicle article from January 2020 quoted Eletha Ainsworth, an elderly woman of Cove and John who uses a cane for support as she has a bad knee, saying “whenever they [conductors] see me with my stick, they don’t stop for me. The few that do stop are often impatient and rude, “always rushing, they never wait for us to have a seat, they just drive off, which result in us being jilted back and front, causing pain and when it’s time for us to get off at our destination, they’re always saying push yah body granny.”
The elderly and disabled have a right to partake in society, to visit family and friends, to go out to dinner or to events and a government is obligated to provide adequate transportation for them.
As the economy grows, many businesses are expanding their working hours especially in the hospitality sector. This means more staff need to get to work earlier or to go home later. But minibus service is irregular and dependent on the whims of operators. Often employees have to pay for taxis to get home late at night at great cost. Reliable and scheduled public transportation can therefore be a benefit not only to the workers but also to employers. Additionally such a service would create a wider net of workers to choose from. Someone living in Bush Lot, Soesdyke or Tuschen may now consider working in town if they know they can get to and fro safely and on time.
The last benefit is quite obvious: Less congestion. It’s good the government is building new roads and widening new ones. It is long overdue and will help with congestion. Man hours spent/lost in traffic are a major cost to the economy.
However every urban planner, including Dr Ali, is well aware of the concept of “induced demand” wherein the more roads one builds the more citizens buy cars and go on to use those cars more and to drive at peak hours. Governments can never catch up.
One can easily imagine even by 2030 the New Demerara Harbour Bridge being congested even with its four lanes. As such the government would be wise to start planning now for another bridge perhaps further up the Demerara. One is already seeing peak congestion on the Sheriff St-Mandela Avenue roadway that was completed only a few months ago although this may be more to do with poorly calibrated traffic lights.
But the better solution especially for the working classes is proper public transportation. And just as an aside one can only hope this also includes a light rail service to the airport because right now anyone travelling that road at night is putting their lives in the hands of sand truck drivers.
Large, comfortable air conditioned buses might actually encourage commuters to park their cars at home. And since one bus can remove up to 40 cars off the road it not only saves time but also cuts CO2 emissions. An added incentive for commuters would be to create priority bus lanes for such vehicles. Of course this will all require infrastructure such as clean and safe termini within the city as well as clean well-lit bus stops in the countryside. One suspects this is beyond the ability of any government in Guyana and that is the reason for the decades of procrastination. Building roads is easy compared to actively managing a bus system with all the employment-related and other issues.
The benefits of a comprehensive public bus system are many and touch on the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable of citizens. What is a government’s duty if not for this?
Just don’t paint them red.
