BRT: Right to Choose

As we approach 2010 the impetus to establish a safe reliable and controlled form of public transport is nearing its first implementation phase. This week we will for the first time be able to use the new BRT buses in the city centre.

There are other forms of public transport, old metro buses, PUTCO and the Metro Rail, but often these do not have a sufficiently flexible or frequent timetable to fully meet commuter needs. Depending on where you live and where you want to get to, unless you have access to your own car you are probably going to have to use a taxi.

There has been much tension with taxi bosses and drivers over the effects this new form of public transport will have on their business. Because we have seen over the years the violent turf wars of the taxi industry there are understandable fears for the safely of the users of the new buses. However, in theory, the new BRT promises to be cheaper, safer, more environmentally friendly and to meet the needs of a growing urban population.

The taxi owners and their representatives are afraid that this new state-promoted competition will run them off the roads. Yet if we look at the history of the taxis it does seem that their interest in capitalist freedom to work is frequently limited to their own need to control the market, and the taxi wars testify to their fiercely territorial attitude. The introduction of a new choice for commuters will probably end their monopoly of public transport. However, where the taxis are really a better alternative, commuters will continue to use them.

In the short term the routes for the BRT will only link some suburbs to the CBD and there have been sensible conversations with the taxi industry about establishing links to aid in a more coordinated movement of people around our megalopolis.

As road congestion worsens, there is a pressing need for an alternative to the existing systems. Many people drive their own cars, because the taxis are perceived as being unsafe, and because even the taxi routes do not necessarily go where people are headed. In addition to serving the needs of those who don't have cars, it is to be hoped that the new system will lure some drivers onto public transport.

As Christians we need to think about how our way of living is impacting our society and our natural resources. The BRT should offer a safer choice for those who need public transport and one bus will be able to carry as many as 4 taxi loads or 40 car loads - a really good environmental choice.

We are a planet of dwindling resources. The attitude of the 80’s and early 90’s that environmental issues were for a few extremist greens is no longer tenable as we live with the consequences of global warming. We need to be choosing to commute in a way that ensures our children’s children’s safety as well as our own.