Comment: Public transportation vital for economic development

Bus fares have been increased again. According to the Minister of Transport rail fares will shoot up by 50% in the coming months. International oil prices, depreciation of the rupee, war related expenditure and many other reasons are put forward as excuses.

Public transportation, the most critical service needed for economic development of the country is in the worst condition in known history. Whether the government or the private sector operates it, the quality of the service has not improved. Therefore whatever the fare increase the people do not get a quality service.

Today long distance travellers who work in the city spend over 25% of their salary on transport. They spend five to six hours daily in the bus or train to work eight hours at the office or factory. Traffic jams on city roads as well as on all main roads leading to Colombo waste millions of rupees due to wastage of fuel and man hours.

Our political leaders are acutely aware of these issues. Election manifestoes of all elected governments in the past two decades have proposed impressive solutions for the issue. But nothing had got off the ground during their tenure of office and the issue still remains unsolved causing hardships, mentally and economically.

Following the fare hike, talk shops have started. Ministers, bus owners' associations and top officials of the transport ministry have explained how the bus service will improve in the coming weeks. As witnessed in the past people know by experience that nothing would materialise and after a few weeks we would be back to square one.

What are the reasons for this pessimism and continued failure in developing the transport sector in the country? Firstly, the authorities have not realised the economic importance of the sector, and its contribution to productivity.

The state transport sector, both SLTB and CGR are suffering from the "inherited illness" of the state sector, political interference, corruption, wastage of public funds and valuable assets that hinder the development of the two sectors.

The private bus sector is not regulated and the operators are allowed to earn profits by exploting commuters. There is no scientific approach to solve overall issues in the transport sector.

Productivity improvement is given high priority by the government and there are significant financial allocations for the purpose. The inefficiency in the transport sector is a key factor that undermines human productivity in the economy. If the money spent on shorteats and other expenses to conduct productivity workshops in the past decade were channelled to the transport sector, the country would have achieved much higher productivity.

Financial profit and economic gain of the transport sector is a debatable question and some argue that the transport sector should not go after profit and it should be subsidised. An efficient public transport sector would contribute to the economy in many ways.

For instance the energy consumption per passenger km by bus is the least and is the highest for cars.

In terms of fuel cost per passenger km, a three-wheeler is about six to seven times more costly than a bus and a two-wheeler is at least twice as costly as the bus.

A better public transport system would attract a significant number of private vehicle users. A positive environment impact of shifting to the public transport system too is immense. Our policy makers should consider these aspects when investing on the sector, especially at a time when fuel costs have become a major issue.

There are many countries that have successfully addressed the transport issue and the public transportation is in a very good condition. Some are not financially profitable and are run on a government subsidy. But the quality of the service and its contribution to the economy is considered above other factors.

According to "The Economist" magazine, the best case of the success of public transportation is reported from Brazil, a developing country. The Curitiba city in Brazil provides this successful model on how to integrate sustainable transport considerations into business development, road infrastructure development and community development.

The history of this successful model goes back to 1965, when the first master plan was prepared. It was modified over time to give public transport the highest priority.

In Curitiba's case, its planners recognised that transportation systems could serve as the backbone for the development and growth of the city.

In the system, public transport is given top priority by allocating roads for them. According to the reports on Curitiba's transport system, today 1,100 buses make 12,500 trips per day, serving 1.3 million passengers. There are five different types of buses operating in Curitiba.

Firstly, the express buses operate exclusively on the arteries' dedicated bus ways. Secondly, "Rapid" buses operate on both the arteries and on other main streets throughout the city, and their routes are changed to respond to demand. These buses stop at tube-shaped stations designed for protection from the weather and for quick bus entry and exit. They also accommodate the handicapped.

Thirdly, the "bi-articulated" bus, introduced in December 1992, is a form of rapid bus operating on the outside high-capacity lanes. Bi-articulated buses - the largest in the world - are actually three buses attached by two articulations, and are capable of carrying 270 passengers.

Next, the inter-district" buses bring passengers between the city's sectors lying between the arteries, and thus provide a crucial link between the routes of the express and bi-articula.

Finally, "feeder" buses mix with traffic on all other city streets and bring passengers to transfer stations called "District Terminals," around which local urban development and commercial activity has flourished.

Curitiba's buses are privately owned by ten companies and are managed by a quasi-public company. With this public-private collaboration, public sector concerns the safety, accessibility and efficiency in the system while the goals of the combined private sector are lower than the maintenance and operating costs.

The bus companies receive no subsidies and instead all mass transit money collected goes to a fund and companies are paid on a distance-travelled basis.

For Colombo to become a Curitiba would not be a difficult task if the policy makers think rationally and understand the economic costs of the ramshackled public transport system and the commuters' grievances.