“Thallu start to racing cars”
You have raised good points about Sri Lanka’s automotive industry entrepreneurship and traffic congestion in the Kussi Amma Sera column on August 5.
People make modal choices depending on their travel purposes, destinations, physical abilities, incomes, and risk averseness. If the trip purpose is work, for example, one would typically consider availability, reliability, speed, comfort, safety, security, connectivity and cost of the alternative modes. Public transportation in Sri Lanka cannot beat private transportation in any of these criteria, except fares. In fact, public transportation according to these criteria has been declining for decades. Therefore, the generalized cost of public transportation (when these criteria are monetized) is much higher than private transportation. So, the increase in the number of registered vehicles by 50 per cent from 2010 to 2016 should not be surprising. Would someone who qualifies for financing for a motorbike or a three-wheeler, let alone a car, wait for a bus or train that does not run on schedule, then sit sweating in a noisy and crowded vehicle, when he or she will also have to get off and walk home along a dark street with no sidewalks (even if there are sidewalks they are used either for parking, vendors, stray dogs or trash disposal)? So, is it fair for the government to tax a citizen 200 per cent on a new purchase and 40 per cent on gasoline?
Citizens in advanced countries use public transportation by choice–because it is convenient and less expensive in generalized terms. Singaporeans pay heavy taxes and user charges for private transportation, but they are offered comparable and greener public transportation options with seamless transfers between rail and bus. But as you have rightly said, providing such high-quality public transportation in Sri Lanka is not easy. Chaotically mixed land-use (restaurants, offices, convenience stores, supermarkets, schools, hospitals, etc in the same neighborhood) driving habits, traffic control systems, absence of intermodal transfer options, labour unions, and arcane regulations are hurdles that will take time to dismantle. Sri Lankan experts, including the late John Diandas, have been advocates of peak-period bus-lanes. But, saving few minutes of travel time is not enough. The current public transportation providers (Railway, SLTB, and the private bus operators) can do much more on their own to improve service quality—at least safety, cleanliness, reliability, etc. Bus drivers can follow traffic rules and schedules, owners can wash and use disinfectant in the vehicles, and be courteous. Cab drivers and 3-wheeler drivers can charge by the meters and carry change without overpricing. Railway workers can stop their random strikes. Major investments and regulatory changes will be futile if these minor operational and attitude changes are not made. It is fine for operators to place religious ornaments and slogans on the vehicles and break journey to offer tithings at roadside temples. But, don’t expect the governments to do everything. All of us must remind ourselves of John Kennedy’s famous line– Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
Prianka Nalin Seneviratne,
PhD, PEng
Professor of Civil Engineering