Decongestant

Is the congestion on Bermuda’s roads really that bad?

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown certainly thinks so. Earlier this week he was again publicly musing about tightening Bermuda’s already draconian restrictions on car ownership, which currently limit residents to one car per household. Now it seems he’s considering removing this privilege from contract workers.

Although Dr. Brown emphasised that no decision has yet been reached, and that family circumstances might be taken into account, this sounds like a bad idea to me. Preventing foreign workers with families from owning cars would undoubtedly dissuade them from coming to Bermuda. And while it might be acceptable for expat singles to be prevented from owning cars, most I know prefer to get around on scooters anyway.

I’m also perplexed by Dr. Brown’s assertion that the second-hand car market is contributing to the problem. What does it matter if people are only keeping their cars a couple of years? Reducing the supply of second-hand vehicles by forcing people to keep their cars for at least seven years won’t help if there’s still demand from those with a spare assessment number. Those individuals will simply buy a new car instead, whether they can afford it or not.

More fundamentally, I question whether the traffic in Bermuda is yet bad enough to justify such draconian action. While commuting from the West End may be a nightmare, I rarely run into problems during my commute to and from St. George’s. Bermuda’s roads may be busier than they used to be, but I don’t believe rush hour traffic here is any worse than in, say, the UK.

That said, I wholeheartedly support Dr. Brown’s plan to expand the late night bus service to operate on all routes at 15-minute intervals. The same should be done with the ferries. There’s little sense in trying to get people out of their cars without putting a viable alternative in place first.

Comments

[big bad wolf on 16.12.04 at 08:12]

Some expats are making sure that their wife and nanies are getting a car each. Doctors have more than one car, certainly stupid and unfair and finally the Bermudian general puplic has been abusing the LP system for years for uneeded second trucks and wagons.Then we have the construction contractors with all these oversized trucks for showing off as they go from job site to job site. There sure is a problem Phil and you would have to be dreaming not to see it!

[Somers on 16.12.04 at 08:41]

Phil - you wait until there is 200 more homes in the East End... then you will start to see some traffic congestion.

[ruby tuesday on 16.12.04 at 08:44]

If you increase the disparity between expat workers and Bermudians then the transfer to other offshore centres will simply increase. Bermuda has precious few competitive advantages and to instituitionalize this sort two tier citizenship will make it harder to attract the specialist and educated management that Bermuda desperately needs.

Although I don't see the problem as too bad having lived in NY, Tokyo and London I do accept that others do and therefore some mutually acceptable solution needs to be found. Any restrictions should be placed across the whole populace and not one group - indeed there far more single Bermudians than single expats and so restricting cars across all residents would have a notable impact.

The last year has seen a net fall in the expat workforces at the two largest insurers, the largest alternative investment firm is leaving the island and the BofB job losses will start in earnest this year. Yields on residential property are starting to rise and if Ewart Brown wants to score some pointless political runs then he will find the costs will far outweigh the benefits.

[jake on 16.12.04 at 10:30]

I am against treating foreign workers like tier two citizens. There are some issues that we have to face up to. Many of us - yes us Bermudians - use cars without need. How many people sit in the average car entering Hamilton? One. A more equitable solution would be to tax those who wish to use their car this way (one person per car) between certain hours - say 7:30 - 9:30. Johnny Barnes can collect the cash since he slows up traffic anyway. We can also put them in a slow lane to the left. Car poolers travel (a) for free and (b) hopefully more smoothly.

To kick the foreign worker and categorically say that they are not entitled to what most would consider a basic starts, no continues us, on the path toward them thinking we don't want them here. Don't worry Dr. Brown, with enough abuse, they will come to believe it. And then we will have all the space in the world to live, and all the space in the world to drive, and all the jobs we ever wanted - with no money for any of it.

[Tiger Bay on 16.12.04 at 11:01]

Rockaway is the only ferry stop with proper parking. For the ferry to be a real commuter option, it must travel more frequently and have adequate/secure parking.

Unified electronic fare cards for public transportation also add to convenience.

I don't think that HOV restrictions will work in Bermuda - roads too narrow, too few routes.

Many cities restrict trucks on the road during rush hour.

Make more central/secure bike parking in town -- anything to incent people to ride bikes. Current speeds and larger car sizes mean less people are willing to ride bikes.

[jake on 16.12.04 at 11:17]

Is the word "incent" in use in Bermuda now? I hate these words invented by Americans. Nouns as verbs. So we fax you a fax, and we google you on google. Could we not motivate people instead?

Sorry, Tiger. I hear that word applied to management so often and it makes my flesh crawl.

I am looking now for the Dilbert cartoon on this issue. Sorry to get off topic.

[rx matters on 16.12.04 at 12:26]

It is so clear to me that the problem is,that on any weekday every second vehicle is a "white van" on the road. That is the cause of the congestion.The poor expat gets all the blame again.

[Tiger Bay on 16.12.04 at 12:39]

Sometimes it seems to me that traffic is actually worse on Saturdays - the flow is high all day instead of just in the commute hours.

Jake: you and Tivo! Out to get the noun-as-verb-propagators! ;)

http://www.jossip.com/dailyj/2004/12/13/tivo_goes_after_brandasverb_propagators.php

[george on 16.12.04 at 16:33]

Of course there is an issue of too many vehicles on the roads and on the island overall Phil! Come on! This issue comes down to needs vs. wants. in a country of limited space and resources.Here's were I bang the sustainable development drum........funny how Alex never mentioned this in his interpretation of what sustainable development means to Bermuda! How much more of an unpopular man he would be. Though its practical and convenient to drive a car/vehicle its not a necessity, for any single person on this island.... Bermudian or Expat or even for married couples without a family for that matter. Licensing should be done on a needs basis. An easy solution, TCD having categories of vehicle license applicants and depending if you fit into one of those catergories or not you're allowed a car.i.e. have a family, Over 60, look after the elderly etc etc. Some may scream that its discriminatory or biased and not the most democratic way but we already have legislation which is not democratic or "fair" in place, but its logical and needed on an island with limited space and limited resources. Taxing people on driving without car pooling isn't going to work either. Owners who have already paid an exorbitant amount for the purchase of the car and then the insurance and then all the add-ons on top won't bat an eye-lid at paying a further tax, especially if the only thing they can invest in as a single person is a large luxury item like a car or boat etc. You'd have to make the tax ridiculously high to discourage these individuals from driving a car and then it only affects them when the control is in place. Single persons can buy a new/used four stroke, or for all the expat wives/partners who don't want to ride.... time to improve our public transportation system properly.... on par with European countries. The same goes for LPs and work vehicles ownership, there is restrictive legislation as to who can own a truck/van already. but its obviously not being enforced otherwise every other vehicle wouldn't be a white truck. The issue again is ownership not use. Last thought.......isn't it funny to hear residents reactions to such proposals ......people are all for listening to new sometimes controversial ideas related to the environment and sustainability until it affects them directly. In a land with such affluence and with such a highly educated population why are we so unprogressive in our thinking? I would argue its because the power and control lay in the almighty dollar first and foremost!! Greed over need! Anyone got a soapbox??

[Smiffy on 16.12.04 at 16:59]

What about the GP registrations? What is the criteria for getting one of those? Seems to have been a massive increase in them over the last few years, maybe some control needs to be exercised over that fleet also.

[big bad wolf on 16.12.04 at 18:36]

Heah everyone is in the mix re too many cars--This Bermudian for one is not zeroing on the Expats rather everyone!

[Fraz on 16.12.04 at 22:54]

Jake:
Presumably you would also object to the verbs prospect, focus, view, siphon, or puncture. You probably have also never screwed anything into the wall. All were nouns before they were verbs.

Yes, today we seem to hear/see more and more nouns used as verbs, but I propose that our language is developing at a faster rate due to the increase in communication bandwidth that radio, TV, and of course, the internet have brought us.

However, to label this development as an American thing is just mis-leading - one of the beauties of the English language is its versatility. This versatility is due, in no small part, to those pesky Romans with their inflected Latin language where the endings of the word affect (perhaps, define) its meaning.

Incent isn't a terrible offender. Incentivize, however, should make your hair curl and your toenails turn black and fall off.

(PS: apologies for going off-topic Phil - we need a good language post where we can take this discussion)

[jake on 17.12.04 at 11:23]

I agree on incentivize. It hurst me even to type it.

[CB on 17.12.04 at 15:16]

It is a known fact that 10% - 15% of all cars are registered illegaly (in someone else's name). This could be fixed by saying that only an owner of a house (name on the deeds) or a renter (name on the lease) can register a car. Government already has access to this data so this would be easy to implement. The only people to suffer would be those who are already breaking the law.

Bear in mind though that the people who set these regulations, are probably tied to those who import cars for sale. So don't expect any action too soon.

[Tiger Bay on 21.12.04 at 14:08]

Today's news quotes Ashfield Devent as asking the Ministry of Transport to reconsider the "one car per house" restrictions; he thinks they may contribute to the housing problem (people moving out in order to get a car).

Not sure if he can back this up with research; it is pretty reductionist. It would be an interesting conundrum!

[ace on 21.12.04 at 14:18]

lol.

Pretty typical.

Solve one problem while exaserbating another.

[Somers on 21.12.04 at 14:54]

Plain and simple - too many people clinging to this darn rock...