SUNDAY 2 JUNE 2019 – UWI TODAY
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Gillian Moore is a writer, editor and singer-songwriter.
Transportation Frustration
Civil Engineering hosts national conservation
about the woes and way forward on the roads of T&T
B Y G I L L I A N M O O R E
What is the way forward for transportation inTrinidad and
Tobago?
Arecent conferenceon the subject presentedresearch,
theory, various perspectives – and lots of good intentions.
Engineers, researchers, students and policymakers came
together to discuss the issue at the Faculty of Engineering
on May 15, as UWI’s Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department hosted its “Transportation Symposium 2019:
Breaking Boundaries, CreatingAllies andUnitingDisciplines”.
First topresentwasTransportationEngineeringconsultant
Dr Rae Furlonge on land-use planning and the economic
impacts of transportation in times of financial constraint.
He said the “national interest” when it came to transport
issues should not be decided in a cloistered cabinet without
reliable information and collaboration between agencies,
developers, land owners, etc. He bemoaned a lack of research
on the topic and said more consideration should be given to
related issues like social interactionandaccessdespite economic
situations or mobility.
He said commuters faced a lack of options with transport
hubs at times turning into drug dens in the night, putting them
at a risk:
“Who does a woman call when she’s standing under the
flyover in Chaguanas at 9pm?”
PlanningConsultant RyanDarmanie’s focuswas onurban
form and how the design of the environment affects society.
He discussed factors such as the location of public housing,
the issue of fuel subsidies, and the media-propagated image of
the ideal home.
Hesaidplanningregulationswereoftheutmostimportance
increatingurban form, ultimately affecting convenience, safety,
and social connection for commuters.
Linus Phillip, President of the Route 2 Maxi Taxi
Association said, “public transportation is like a bastard child
in T&T, but it is the heartbeat of the country. If you don’t take
proper care of it, we will pay dearly.
“We lose many hours in productivity every day because
we don’t have a proper transportation system.”
He discussed a lack of infrastructure in residential
developments, neglect of rural areas, fuel subsidies as a
disincentive to public transport use, and the need to regulate
“PH” taxis – illegal private cars being used for hire in
underserved areas.
Traffic Engineer Adande Piggott made a presentation for
the Ministry of Works and Transport, which described past
Government plans and a vision for the future.
He said the development of a National Transportation
Plan (NTP), with an 18-month projected timeline, was in the
works, but noted that the new initiative was partially based on
unrealised goals from transportation plans created since 1967,
including a Toco-Scarborough ferry, a new Caroni road, and
a fully realised east-west expressway from Port-of-Spain to
Valencia.
Several audience members expressed concern that
hundreds of millions of dollars were to be invested based on
50-year-old plans that were unlikely to fit today’s needs.
Civil Engineering PhD candidate Leah Wright presented
research that revealed a reluctance for car owners to use public
transport, finding that comfort and access were significant
deciding issues, more so than cost.
SALISESResearchFellowDrGodfreyStBernardspokeon
the sociology of ground transportation, looking at why people
commute, the effects of temporal events, and demographic
trends. He saidmore data shouldbe considered at the planning
stage: “We are too reactive.”
He said our “sociological imagination” should be engaged
“to prepare for outcomes that maymanifest in the future,” such
as the effects of artificial intelligence.
Lacey Williams, Managing Director of Caritrans Ltd
showedreal-lifeexamples illustratinghowmultifaceteddatawas
needed to solve transport problems.He cautionedagainst quick
fixes: “we can’t solve problems basedonanecdotal information,
or based on what we think the problem is.”
Insummingup,Civil EngineeringHeadofDepartmentDr
TrevorTownsend expressed concernabout theMinistry’sNTP.
He said he had lived through the various incarnations of
plans for the sector, but had seennoneof themcome to fruition.
He cautioned against trying to “do toomany things at the same
time without first addressing policy questions”.
Townsend asked what the official Government position
was regarding issues such as: access for people with disabilities,
the role of taxes vs subsidies, the inter-island link, alternative
fuels and hybrid cars.
“We have to stop guessing. We must apply science and
engineering to transport issues, and not apply short-term
solutions to long-term problems.”
At the same time, he felt therewas existing data to support
immediate alleviation measures like a “rudimentary bus rapid
transport system”.
He advocated for transportation network companies like
Uber, which he felt should utilise legitimate taxis.
Townsend urged audiencemembers to reach out and give
feedback on transportation issues, noting that his department
was in the process of formulating questions for a newly-
approved National Household Travel Survey that would shed
light on the subject.
“Public transportation is like a bastard
child in T&T, but it is the heartbeat of
the country. If you don’t take proper
care of it, we will pay dearly.”
LINUS PHILLIP
President of the Route 2 Maxi Taxi Association
“We have to stop guessing. We must
apply science and engineering to
transport issues, and not apply short-
term solutions to long-term problems.”
DR TREVOR TOWNSEND
Head of the Department of Civil Engineering
at The UWI St Augustine
