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 )