Improving public transport

I wasn’t one of the two dozen people rattling around inside the 350-seater Warbaby Fox – the first fast ferry serving the East End of the island – on its first trip this morning. Nor did I catch it for the return trip this evening. I can’t see that I ever will.

“The aim of this ferry is to make commuters out of those residents of the east end who for whatever reason have been accustomed to driving their cars to work,” said Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown at the ferry’s christening in September. Dream on.

With a scheduled journey time of 50 minutes from St. George’s to Hamilton and 65 minutes from St. David’s, the ferry takes longer than either the car or the bus. But the real problem is the frequency. There’s one ferry from St. George’s at 7.30am, and one back from Hamilton at 5.20pm. The inbound ferry would get me into Hamilton 40 minutes before I need to be there. The outbound one leaves before I’ve even finished work.

One ferry per day each way won’t get commuters out of their cars, particularly since there are rarely any traffic jams driving in from the East End. Neither will making the bus free, another idea that Dr. Brown has floated. It’s already more expensive to drive into town and anyway, most buses to and from St. George’s at rush hour are full already, particularly during the tourist season.

What’s needed is a more frequent service that starts early and runs late. For the ferry, that means one every 30 to 60 minutes. For the buses, that means one every 10 to 15 minutes. Both should start around 6am and run until at least 11pm. In addition, the Government should install GPS on the buses and at-stop digital displays to show commuters how long it will be before the next one arrives. The hassle of buying a ticket or having the right change could be mitigated by introducing stored-value cards that travellers swipe as they get on the bus and can top up with credit at self-service machines in the bus station (or online).

Public transport brings in about $7 million per year and costs $16 million to run. While I'm sure that that $7 million could be raised in other ways (perhaps by increasing the tax on gas), it might be more effective to use it to fund a better service instead of to scrap fares.

Comments

[ben on 15.11.06 at 00:00]

I agree on the schedules...

I'm in the west end, and as of mid november, the last ferry to the west is 6:30p, and makes no sense at all. There should be running the same sched all year long. I'm not sure you have the same numbers in the east end, but you will never know unless you run the service for an extended period of time first. Rockaway is a prime example. When it first opened it looked far to big, with all that parking and bus service... and now look at it, loaded buses and parking tickets.

and i'm down with free public transport. Bring it on!! especially for those that are at te low end of the income spectrum. Its like a tax break.

[Martin on 15.11.06 at 07:33]

Why do we have public transport?

If the reason is to provide a facility to people who do not have cars/bikes etc - that is one thing. If it is to move people out of their much loved cars - that is another.

Limey's problem of getting to and leaving from work too early is really about loosing flexibility which is what using a car gives you.

To go from buses/ferries costing very little to costing nothing, would bring no pressure on me to leave my car. The small monetary gain does not equate to the loss of flexibility. I, for one, am happy to put up with the downsides of driving in Bermuda, just to retain that flexibility.

Someone in Government needs to rethink how to service the core times of (say) 7.30am to 6.30pm if we are to reduce the level of car usage.

Easy to say it - expensive and problematic to achieve it.

[H Reardon on 15.11.06 at 09:13]

Phil, I understand your call for more service, but the last thing I want is to double my chances to get a big gulp of black smoke in my face as a bus pulls out in front of me.

Maybe if we moved to smaller buses, keeping a few of the large buses for peak demand times.

[Andrew on 15.11.06 at 09:15]

I agree with Phil, especially on the point of electronic displays.
I have been in London for several months now, and I can't begin to express how efficient the bus service is here. Every stop displays the upcoming buses and destinations. I have a prepaid swipe card here (oyster) which couldn't be easier to use. I can top it up in several ways including an automatic debit when it reaches a certain level as well as on the internet. Growing up in Bermuda I caught the bus to and from school every day for many years, which is probably the reason I haven't caught it in over 5 years. The cost was and never is going to be a factor.

When every bus at peak times is full the government needs to put on more buses FIRST and then try to encourage more people to use them. Heck, they could even charge more during the peak times like they do in almost every other country with public transport.

[sandgrownan on 15.11.06 at 09:38]

Absolutely correct. When I first arrived in Bermuda I lived in Somerset. The ferry schedule meant I needed to leave work at 5.00pm on the dot to get home. Utterly utterly useless.

As for driving, we've suggested numerous courses of action that could be taken to reduce congestion and at the risk of repeating myself...

a) enforce existing laws. Make sure households only have one car, ensure that all commercial vehicles are exactly that, commercial vehicles.
b) school buses, school buses, school buses
c) Reduce the vast number of GP cars.
d) More buses, more ferries, going to more destinations.
e) Encourage flexible working hours.
f) Get rid of most of the traffic signals in Hamilton and seriously rethink the one way system.

[Michael Taylor on 15.11.06 at 10:51]

Limey,

I agree, the problem is not the price, its the schedule. Free public transport could be nice but I think it would do little to reduce congestion if anything.

[SmokingGun on 15.11.06 at 11:47]

Some good and worthwile ideas Limey.

With a scheduled journey time of almost 1 hour I wonder why they call them fast ferries. In reality they would need two boats working the routes in order to improve the scheduling times and they need to get the speed up. This now becomes a question of financial feasibility. Maybe it's not worth it.

As far as the buses being free that's just crazy talk. It already costs $16 mil to run and we collect $7 mil so if we go for free and we have a nice running loss of $23 mil per year and growing. As has been mentioned people need flexibility so why not keep charging, stick with the fast ferries and buy a whole bunch more buses and hire more drivers. Then increase licensing fees for the larger cars and whislt doing this have an all out raid on all the scam artists who continue to flaunt the laws with their rigged assesment number.

[Ali on 15.11.06 at 15:52]

Transport is already the best deal in Bermuda, no need to make it free, particularly as the need is for increased frequency which will up the costs. We need an extension of the ferry routes into Warwick and Southampton. This has been on the table for years at The Marine Board but no action from Government so far. Raise the driving age to 21.
Cut out all the business vans that are nothing more than a second car for their owners.
Encourage the use of LP type vehicles without restrictions so they can double as business and social transport.
Tax the hell out of all these big SUV's which should never have been allowed in the first place.
How many GP cars are there? I can't believe they are all necessary.
SCHOOL BUSES AND MORE SCHOOL BUSES.

[Wensleydale on 15.11.06 at 16:21]

I live in St George’s and work in the centre of Hamilton. I love using public transport and passionately dislike cars. So this new ferry should really be ideal for me. The reality off course is that its not. At present I bike, not because its cheaper (which it is) or because its fast (which it is), or because I need the bike for work (which I do) but because the high number of tourist (when the cruise ships are in) mean that going home the buses are too full for me to get a seat or sometimes even get on the bus.

My solution to this problem would be balancing the number of buses and the price against demand. So, more buses running when the cruise ships are in, more buses running more often and starting earlier in the morning and finishing later at night. Higher fares during rush hours or even residents only passes during rush hour.
To give a little praise, I find, with the exceptions mentioned above the bus service to be reliable, clean and all the bus drives very friendly and helpful.

One a more general note……………
Transport needs to be looked at from the other-side. It’s not just a case of how to get to where you need to be but also thinking of where you live and where you need to go. The urban layout of the island i.e. where all the house are and where all the offices are, has a massive affect on transport. I think the unique urban development of Bermuda has created 2 problems.

Firstly the over development of Hamilton as the commercial centre of the island combined with the lack of residential development in and around Hamilton has result is the huge rush hour runs; this is the same as any city that is dependent upon dormitory villages to house its working population. My suggestion would be more high density housing (with some affordable housing) in Hamilton. And allow some tasteful commercials development (offices) in carefully selected area around the centre of the island, east-Pembroke, west-Devonshire, and east-Paget.

The secondly problem is the lack of urban centers everywhere else on the island. The spread out distribution of shops, restaurants, offices etc means that public transport can’t efficiently take people to everywhere they need to be. My suggestion would be the improvement and development of “urban villages.” Clearly defined commercial, and recreational center of which St George’s and Flatts Village are brilliant existing examples.

[VB on 15.11.06 at 17:05]

People are not going to get out of their cars until driving & parking is so inconvenient that another way is a better way.

You can't rely on public transport. You just never know when they have a 'meeting' to attend & the whole system grinds to a halt. Who runs the show anyway? The drivers & crews or management?

6 people with 6 bikes take up as much parking as 1 person with 1 car yet there are nowhere near enough bike parking spots. Give the whole of #1 shed over to bike parking & give up more space at City hall for all day bike parking. Enlarge the 1 hour bike parking streetside for people wanting to come to town by bike for business. Finding parking for a bike after rush hour is near impossible.

During the rush hours man the carpark entrances & give free & prefered parking to those with 3 or more in the car. Charge the single occupant cars double & send them to the roof of Bulls Head.

Restrict who can own a car. I you are healthy,under 30, unmarried, no children (Bermudian or other) what is your NEED for a car? That would sure reduce the bling cars rolling on our streets.

I saw a Ford full sized SUV a few days ago. It had a PC tag on it. There is a Dodge 3500 diesel 1 ton truck here. Looks like it has NEVER carried anything. Somebody has a Toyota minivan licensed as an HA. What is this all about?

[stefan on 15.11.06 at 17:09]

I was on the ferry yesterday. It was a nice ride, much more pleasant than a bus ride into town.
It arrived in Hamilton at the same time (8.15am) as another ferry from the West End, which was full of commuters. Maybe there are folk who start work early. But for me too, if I had to take transport into Hamilton, this ferry would be too early.
Then I caught the bus back east, at 4.15pm and there were tons of tourists. I suppose they won't be here next week, but I wish someone had told them about the 5.20 ferry ;-)

The lack of displayed timetables is something that could be dealt with more cost effectively than electronic displays. When I grew up in Germany, there was a printed timetable at every bus stop, for that bus stop. In Bermuda the buses run fairly regular and on time, so it shouldn't be too difficult to calculate when the bus is at which stop.

[SmokingGun on 15.11.06 at 18:17]

Breaking News: Premier Brown has requested Government House widen the gates so he can take the bus to his Monday meetings. The Opposition's response to Premier Brown's latest demands was to say: "What do you expect, he's just looking for a free ride."

[Bill Cook on 16.11.06 at 08:26]

Phil,
When you lived in Hong Kong you will be familiar with the private mini buses that cover areas of the island and mainland just as are used in Mexico city.

These buses I think run east to west and north to south picking people up with a flat small charge and run for long hours.

I think that if someone started a service running west to east and east to west esp after rush hours it would be profitable and probably take many cars off the road too.

[beach report on 16.11.06 at 09:04]

we need to get costs down
so lets put advertising on or in our transport...
I am tired of living in this "Staid" island
lets move on
signs NEED to be readable to be of any use
signage in this island is useless at best

i totally agree with more cycle parking bays in hamilton
and get rid of the BIG cars

what is the point?
its for the independence promoters i am sure
they dont listen to the population either!

[Tiger Bay on 16.11.06 at 09:34]

"so lets put advertising on or in our transport"

Don't kid yourself - there are already many advertising options on the island, with too few advertisers with money to spend.

[Tiger Bay on 16.11.06 at 12:09]

There's been some suggestion that distribution of urban centres across the island would reduce traffic.

That has not been the experience in most countries, where spread out business development actually requires people to drive MORE in order to accomplish their multiple tasks.

This is why, for example, in the US traffic is typically worse - and accident rates higher - in the surburbs with their accompanying mid-density business sprawl.

[Wensleydale on 16.11.06 at 15:38]

I response to tiger bays comment that Multiple urban centers would increase traffic congestion rather than reduce it.

I was suggesting urban village, which is a new branch of thought in sustainable urban design. Its important to state these are extremely different from urban sprawl; and I agree with tiger bays comment that mid-density business sprawl increase both increases congestion and accidents.

The idea of an urban village is that every house has a small “village centre” at the most 15minutes walk away (1km). These provide retail and recreation facilities, i.e. conveyance shops, pubs, restaurants, none specialist shops stuff that people use every other day, so St George’s and Flatts are existing examples of urban villages. Because these are grouped in one place it easy to get the bus or walk to the urban centre rather than have to drive to the shop and then drive to the bank, post office etc. All to often in Bermuda shops and restaurants are too far away from where people live and even a trip to buy a pint of milk and visit the cash machine requires you to get behind the wheel of a car.
The solution is to encourage retail and recreations facilities to group together in clearly planned and specified locations. This will of course take decades to achieve, but that’s the nature of urban design.

[VB on 17.11.06 at 20:24]

Well, it looks like more than a few thousand has been spent preparing road & parking facilities for commuters on Marginal Wharf.

I happened to stop by there today.

I am waiting to hear how the spin Dr is going to project this idea as a stunning success.

There was 1 car & 1 bike parked in the marked areas for commuters.

[SmokingGun on 19.11.06 at 16:33]

I have just read an opinion piece in the MON by Dr. Edward Harris, MBE on the need to offer free buses and ferries. And I have to say I largely agree with what he proposes and think it may be worth a test run.

At first I was very skeptical with the idea of having free services to all as it seemed financially irresponsible. We already have free ridership for certain parties and we have to subsidize it. I would prefer to see expanded service with more buses but that creates an even greater expense. Dr. Harris responds to this by making some suggestions of pulling monies from other government budgets and increasing taxes. I am not one for increasing taxes but am for fair taxation and prudent spending.

I would stress that our government needs to go far beyond just taking from Peter to pay Mary with Paul's money. We need cars off the road, not just people making use of alternative "free" methods. So unless they are prepared to clamp down on abuses then I see no reason why the tax payers should get hit again.

[SmokingGun on 20.11.06 at 14:03]

Hmmm... just had re-think about the free ride system and I think I might have a solution that is both practical and financially feasible and helps get cars off the road during peak times.

The Rush Hour Rate: Run the buses and ferries for free during rush hours. From 7 am to 9 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm people can ride for free. This will create some incentive to reduce traffic without penalizing others.

[frank on 21.11.06 at 08:35]

I've often thought that it would be great if the buses provided the Gazette during the morning commute (for free or charge, whichever).

Maybe the buses can provide charging stations for iPods? :-)