I am off to catch the bus!

For the past few months I have been attending the Queens’s Park Oval on Mondays for classes. Every Monday I will make my way to Port of Spain and board a St James car to the oval. This Monday I decided to take a bus to the oval! Yes this was my first trip on a PTSC bus J. This picture was taken in City Gate, where I was about to board my bus to the Oval. The bus is also a form of mobility for persons in the city. So far we have talked about walking, cycling, driving and now buses!!.

I refer back to the study that was conducted in Great Britain where it shows the percentage of persons using the bus as a form of transport. In 152 there were 42% of persons using the bus as a form of transport. The bus was the most popular form of transport in the year 1952. However, in the year 1975 this percentage dropped significantly to 14% while in 2000 it dropped even further to 6 % of persons using the bus. This figure remained the same in 2007 (Hall and Barrett 2012). These figures however aren’t the general trend for buses worldwide. The resurgence of buses can be seen in the case study of Curitiba (yes the video we watched in the library). The Curitiba Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) is new, highly efficient mode of public transportation that has recently been adopted in Curitiba, a city of some 1.7 million people. In most instances, BRT buses are a faster mode of transportation than private automobiles. The organizational, structural, and technological advances of the BRT system are the main factors in increasing efficiency and speed of buses. This system was implemented approximately 30 years ago as a cheaper mode of transport than the construction of an underground subway. BRT routes are perfectly plotted into rings, with each ring expanding further into the outer reaches of the city. Busses are color coordinated to make it easy for riders to distinguish between different rings/routes. This pattern allows for uniform bus routes and locations for bus stops throughout the city. Curitiba is a great example of efficiency of the BRT system, as embarking and disembarking times have been reduced by one-eighth of their original time. Hide levels of ridership leave the roads relatively unclogged. This is the main form of mobility in the city as approximately 75% of the population uses it. In addition there is no specific social class using the buses.

In Trinidad we can also see how influential buses are (not as much as cars though). The PTSC services different cities in the country. From San Fernando to Chaguanas to San Juan to Port of Spain it serves the entire country. Its regular services make this form of transport a accessible need to Trinidadians. In addition the PTSC fleet also boasts Deluxe Coach Service which makes travelling much easier. The buses are equipped with luxurious interior, television, individual reading lights, as well as radio and cd capabilities. This form of transport is also more efficient as it transports more persons with less fuel being consumed. This not only helps the environment but also reduces traffic congestion in the city. You can read more about the Deluxe services here : http://www.ptsc.co.tt/deluxe-coach-service--dcs-.html

There is a new initiative be undertaken by the PTSC. Its call “Know Your Country Tours”. This is relatively knew  and involves families taking PTSC buses to different parts of the country. Areas include : Port-of-Spain to Mayaro, Port-of-Spain to the Pitch Lake to Vessigny  and Port-of-Spain to Los Iros. You can check out more about the “Know Your Country Tours” by following this link : http://www.ptsc.co.tt/know-your-country-tours--kyct-.html.

To me this song is what buses are about…working whole day throughout the city. Hope it brings back some memories also J

Reference

Goodman, Joseph, Melissa Laube, Judith Schwenk. 2007. “Curitiba’s Bus System is Model for Rapid Transit” Race, Poverty and the Environment. Accessed March7, 2013. http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/344

Hall and Barrett,2012. Urban Geography. 4^th Edition. London and New York, Routledge Publishing. 2012 (pages 282-301 )

Vroom Vroom !

On my way to school one morning I thought to myself “ the time is 7:00am and there are so many cars in the Croisee already?” I then thought to myself this would make a good picture for my blog showing a different form of mobility i.e. the car.  This picture was taken in the heart of the Croisee in San Juan. Lets track back a bit at the previous pictures in this blog. The first picture showed how walking was a form of mobility in the city. The second picture showed how using a bicycle was also a form of mobility in the city. We have now reached to in my opinion mans’ best friend the automobile ( not the dog).

Movement in an around cities in the Global North at least, is increasingly dominated by the car. This is so as the choice of the car as the dominant mode of transport has a range of social, economic and environmental implications (Hall and Barrett 2012). A study conducted in Great Britain showed the ever increasing passenger transport by car between 1952 and 2007. In 1952 there were 27% of persons using cars as a mode of transport. In 1975 there was a dramatic jump as there were 76% of persons using cars as their form of transport. This number again increased in the year 2000 to 85% while in 2007 it dropped to 84% of persons using the car as a form of transport. The rise in car mobility can also be seen in Trinidad. An article from the Guardian Newspapers shows the increase in car ownership in the country. In 2011, there were 13, 163 cars sold while in 2012 there were 14,888 cars being sold. In addition there was an increase the amount of used cars being bought by citizens. In 2011 there were 6,089 used cars bought while in 2012 this number more than doubled to 12,250 used cars bought. The article went on further to say that initial indicators are that, for 2013, the foreign used imports and subsequent sales will increase by an additional 33 per cent while the imports of new vehicles should remain constant. The amount of persons using cars as a form of mobility in Trinidad has increased dramatically. This may be due to : more high end jobs to purchase cars, more accessible loans from the banks as well as security reasons( owning a car means no travelling and prevents the  risk of  getting robbed.)

In addition to the considerable benefits of personal mobility and freedom it offers, the car generates a range of negative impacts on the places and people around it. For example the automobile fuel consumption, and the emissions from the industries that produce , maintain and fuel them, are major contributors are major contributors to the greenhouse gases responsible for increasing rates of global climate change over recent years. A prime example of this pollution can be seen in Beijing, China. With one of the world’s largest cities Beijing experiences severe pollution as a result of the high amount of cars in the city. The 2008 Olympics was the much needed imitative to help clean the air in the city. In the city, government have implemented electric buses which still in the year 2013 serve the population and also reduce the amount of smog present. In addition, government has also planned to remove 180,000 old vehicles from the road. Furthermore, there is a greater need to provide cleaner fuels to be used by citizens. You can read more about China’s plans http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=1908 .

Cars have their positives and negatives but at the end of the day there are man’s best friend as they are one of the most common ways to get in and around the city.This song is a good way to describe this entry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsmRuRp4cM

Reference

Hall and Barrett,2012. Urban Geography.4^th Edition. London and New York, Routledge Publishing. 2012 (pages 282-301 )

Raphael, John.2013. “ Car sales get a boast in 2012” Guardian Newpapers (February 28 2013). Accessed March 4  2013.http://guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2013-02-27/car-sales-   boost-2012. 

Pedal to the metal!

This picture was taken at the corner of Concord Road in San Juan. Yes this is my ever faithful bicycle! If you 
can recollect from my first entry, one of the most common forms of mobility in the city is walking. Indeed walking was my first and main forms of mobility but as grew older this bicycle was my main and most exciting form of transport to get in and around the city of San Juan. In addition, San Juan is always cluttered with traffic congestion so it was also the quickest form of getting from one place to another as I did not have to sit in traffic or walk to my destinations.

A study conducted in Great Britain showed the diminishing numbers of persons that commuted via bicycle. In 1952 the percentage of persons that used a bike to get around the city was 11%. This number decreased significantly as in 1975 this number dropped dramatically to one percent. This percentage remained the same up to the year 2007. What this study showed was the stark contrast in bicycles vs. cars as a mode of transport. The percentage of persons that used cars in 1952 was 27% while in 2007 this number jumped to 84%! Great Britain have however catered for this increase in car mobility by having a diverse road network (Hall and Barrett, 283). Furthermore, Hall and Barrett (2012) went on to say that cycling is a mode of transport that is highly uneven across space. This is seen in an example in Belgium where cycling levels among commuters are higher in densely built up areas. These environments are suited for biking as they are characterized by short commuting distances. However, in lower density urban areas commuting distances are longer and hence cycling becomes a less attractive option. In other words biking is more favorable in cities where there is a short commuting distance.

Have you notice I have not spoken anything about Trinidad yet? This is so as every Trinidadian feels that in order to be considered as “reaching somewhere in life” you must own a car and riding a bike to work is frown upon by society. An article in the Guardian Newspaper entitled “Car sales gets a boast in 2012” highlights the story of the ever increasing number of cars in Trinidad. According to the article there were 14,888 new vehicles sold in 2012 compared with 2011 where there were 13,1363 new cars being sold. How are our small roads handling this influx of cars? There will be more traffic! Why don’t the government implement a bike scheme? For example the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme which was implemented in London in 2010 and is still a major part of the transport scheme for London. This cycle scheme in the year 2013 currently has 8000 bicycles and 570 docking stations. At the recently concluded London 2012 Olympics, a record of 47,105 cycle hires was made in a single day. This is a cheap mode of transport in the city, it is environmentally friendly and promotes healthy living. So why not implement a small scale version of the Barclays Cycle Hire in Trinidad, more specifically the capital city? Seeing that the capital city is small (compared to London)  this will tie in with Hall and Barrett (2012) theory as explained earlier that persons are more willing to bike to areas that are short distances away.

This song by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers basically says a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQxJ8d5PPo One of the main lines in the sound… “How could I forget to mention that the bicycle is a good invention”

Reference
Hall,Tim and Heather Barrett.2012. Urban Geography. London and New York: Routledge Publishing.2012 (pages 282- 301)

Raphael,John.2013."Car sales get a boost in 2012" Guardian Newspapers (February 28 2013). Accessed March 4 2013. http://guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2013-02-27/car-sales-get-boost-2012

London and Partners.2011." London Cycle Hire Scheme" Accessed March 4 2013.http://www.visitlondon.com/traveller-information/getting-around-london/london-transport/london-cycle-hire-scheme.