“Sri Lanka’s vehicles conundrum”
Reference to the Kussi Amma Sera column under the above title on March 24, it must be stated that, yes Sri Lankans deserve better train and bus services. The current riders suffer crowds, noise, pollution, and harassment. They have no choice. They will accept even a small improvement with pleasure. But, what is the level of efficiency that you think will make the “small vehicle” users switch modes and relieve the congestion? You often cite Singapore’s system as an example. I am sure you know that Singaporeans ride public transportation because the purchase and operating cost of vehicles are beyond the reach of many.
Colombo’s congestion is not only because of the number of cars, but to a large degree because of the drivers. Most luxury and small vehicles drivers neither obey traffic rules and laws nor respect other road users. Just stand by the road side and count the number of vehicles that move on two lanes, pass on the opposite lane while flashing headlights, parked on the pavements, pedestrian crossings or on the main road, crossing the white line to turn. Go past some of the Colombo schools. The drivers picking up and dropping off children stop on the traffic lanes. Through traffic must move to the opposite lane. People who walked before are now using 3-wheelers even to get from the home to the bus stop because the pavements are either broken, filled with trash or blocked by a parked vehicle. Using a 3-wheeler is also very convenient because the driver will stop anywhere to drop the passenger regardless of who is behind him or is in a no stopping zone.
Depriving someone of a vehicle with taxes that has no relationship to the environmental and social cost imposed by the vehicle is unfair and not the solution to congestion. Having a 200 per cent tax on the purchase price and charging Rs. 50 for on-street parking only in designated CMC parking spaces is insane when someone else parks for free on the pavement just a few metres away.
Yes, public transport must be improved. The current Minister of Transport is perhaps the best person to do something about the quality of train and bus services. He was a daily train rider to school as a child and perhaps is the only Minister who has travelled that much by train. It’s not costly to give people a better service without increasing fares. The railways and SLTB own huge unused and under-used assets that can pay for the improvements. If the Minister does not allow these service providers to hold the riders to ransom, the improvements can be made in a short time. The Sunday Times should support the Minister to make these changes and simultaneously advocate decent driver behaviour, not suggesting that the number of cars on the roads is the cause of all congestion because it will give more reason for the government to increase unfair taxes.
Prianka Nalin Seneviratne,
PhD, PEng
Professor of Civil Engineering