Transportation in Brisbane and Sri Lanka, a comparison

Use of horns very rare:

Limited city parking:

By Dushan Tissera

From a country that always portrays a zest for life and values the unity of family to a country with a western culture that lives off the edge must normally be a shock to any person. This won't be so. Why? The world is flat as stated by Thomas L. Friedman.

However, the perception of difference was evident. This was not in the form of the amount of coffee consumption, Friday night parties and focus on food, but in the level of thinking and planning that has been embodied in the transportation network.

Brisbane city and its suburbs has some of the best planned roads in the world. The surprise is that these roads and the rules that govern the movement of vehicles have a lot in common to what is seen in Sri Lanka.

The vehicles are left-side driven with the driver on the right. Road signage is peculiarly common to that of Sri Lanka. However, the system as a whole is superior compared to Sri Lanka. Congested traffic is barely a normality in the rush hour. Australia has a landmass of 7,682,300 square kilometres (Source: Passport GMID) and a population of 23.6 million in 2014 and an estimated 23.9 million in 2015 (EIU Country Data).

Hence, the land to people ratio is such that roads are not highly congested (even when a large amount of land is uninhabited). However, traffic congestion can be seen during peak hours within the city and bordering the suburbs occasionally.

Whether it is in the suburbs or the city, traffic lights and advising road signage is a common sight. For any driver, the influx of information can be overwhelming. All the information one needs to drive safely is provided at every point throughout the journey. Attention to detail is commendable.

Cameras

There are speed cameras and red light cameras at strategically selected points to keep driver discipline in-check. However, there are traffic cameras in most areas for surveillance. Driver discipline is highlighted by the rows of vehicles flowing through the roads.

All vehicles respect the individual lanes with caution and instructed signalling at all turns and lane changes. The use of horns is rare and only heard in times of imminent danger. Pedestrians and cyclist are always given priority and that is done more as an act of courtesy as opposed to a part of law.

It is mandatory that a vehicle comes to a complete standstill at all 'Stop' signs.

You will be penalized if you fail to do so. Traffic fines are high. For example, the fine for not wearing the seat belt is AUD 353 which is about Rs. 40,000 (rate may differ due to currency fluctuations with time).

This can be cited as a huge incentive to follow traffic rules. Further, at all giveaway points (which are always designated with signage), the rule is followed meticulously.

At many places, the lane to turn left is separated from the rest, allowing vehicles to turn left at any time despite traffic light status which keeps the vehicles moving without unnecessary delays. But the most ingenious development is when a vehicle needs to make a right-turn.

Consider a three-lane road. At a traffic signal to turn right, another fourth lane is carved out to hold about five to 10 vehicles on average so that these vehicles can remain stopped until the right-turn is permitted. This will eliminate the stopping of onward moving vehicles because of right-turning vehicles. It takes a lot of accidents and unnecessary delays out of the picture.

Roadside parking

City parking is quite limited. Roadside parking is on payment and has an added maximum time slot for parking even subsequent to paying. This fades when moving away from the city.

Road side parking is always parallel parking and there are officers frequently monitoring adherence. In addition, there are many paid parking facilities within the city which is a lucrative business.

There are designated school zones where the speed limit is 40 kmph along the length of these zones. However, these zones are operational only on given time slots (7 a.m.-9 a.m. and 2 p.m.-4 p.m.). Within these zones are also special 'schoolchildren' crossing areas, where all drivers graciously allow even a single student to cross the road, displaying the ultimate recognition of schoolchildren.

Sri Lanka is witnessing massive infrastructure development, especially in transport and logistics.

The southern expressway, Colombo-Katunayake expressway with the outer circular expressway has drastically improved mobility and accessibility within the country. These roads are toll payable.

Travel time

Highways take two distinct forms in Brisbane. The motorways are free to the public while there are toll roads with each road segment named differently (Clem 7, Legacy Way, Airport Link M7 etc.).

These toll payable expressways significantly reduce travel time in and around the city increasing the productive time of the people.

There are two payment options in Sri Lanka; manual toll collection and electronic toll collection. In contrast, toll collection in Brisbane is part of a system called 'govia'. Toll collection methods are by tag, video, road pass, pre-paid pass and an option called business (Source: Govia).

Tag option and video option: A tag is attached to the windscreen which is automatically detected when you enter the toll road while an image is taken of the registration number plate which is matched against the vehicle records for tag and video options respectively.

The applicable charge is deducted from the user account in real time. Learning from sophisticated system's such as thosein Brisbane and attempting to reach that level of operation should be Sri Lanka's next focus in road infrastructure development.

Protection of the environment is evident to anyone using Brisbane's roads. Trees are accommodated in city and road landscaping. Truly the tree is worth saving!

Public transport

The bus transport system deserves the highest honour in this tightly woven transport web. It is a well-planned BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system. It may be the best in a developed economy. The only close contender might be Ottawa BRT system in Ontario, Canada. Some BRT systems have been unable to reduce delays because bus lanes tend to combine with normal traffic at endpoints and/or at signalized intersections.

Another reason is due to the lack of priority for buses along the entire route. The system in Brisbane overcomes these common mistakes. The bus lanes are exclusive and largely separated along most of the route except in certain segments in suburbs (where traffic jams are a rare occurrence). Along the motorway at some points one hardly see the bus lanes due to separation.

Bus lanes remain separated until the end point. Many buses to the city end underground avoiding the city traffic. The system does what it intends to do. It significantly reduces the travel time to the city when compared to travelling with own vehicles.

With added costs of parking with own vehicles, buses gain popularity. These buses are also attractive in terms of space, seating and temperature (air-conditioning) which makes it a smooth ride to work and back home. Since many people opt to use the BRT system which more often than not never experience delays, traffic level on the road is maintained at desired levels. More people using public transport means it is also a better for the environment.

Quite different to Sri Lanka, there are no bus conductors on-board. Payment is made to the driver when boarding. This activity continues to diminish with the 'go card' system. An individual can top up the go card with sufficient amount of funds and swipe the card on and off during boarding and alighting respectively. This is just half the picture. The emphasis and attention on road safety, a well-established railway system, strict enforcement of traffic rules, domestic air travel and popularity and promotion of cycling as a mode of transport add a whole new dimension to transportation in Brisbane.

There is much to learn for a developing country such as Sri Lanka in terms of logistics and transport from Brisbane. It is never out of reach but a matter of putting in place the right policy measures.

It may not be tomorrow but with effort and careful planning by absorbing knowledge from such advanced systems and developing a desired model applicable to the attributes unique to Sri Lanka, a future generation may see the light of a sound transport network of similar stature. With ongoing development and a boom in transport and logistics industry, it may be a matter of time!

The writer holds the Rdg. MBus in International Business and a BSc (1st Class) in International Transportation Management and Logistics.