High vehicle ownership not sustainable for Brunei

Ubaidillah Masli
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Main cause of traffic jams, says survey

THE "most extensive transport survey" ever to be conducted in Brunei has pinpointed the "rapidly expanding" ownership of private vehicles as one of the potential causes of deteriorating traffic conditions in the Sultanate.

The survey, which involved some 6,000 roadside interviews and 2,400 Transport Attitude Surveys, was completed recently and constitutes the first part of the ongoing Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) by the Centre of Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and international consultants.

"These findings from relatively widespread observations showed that rapidly expanding auto ownership is unsustainable for the Sultanate," Gary Ho of SQW China said at a press conference at CSPS in Gadong yesterday.

"In Brunei, most households that can afford cars, have them," he added.

The World Bank placed Brunei ninth in the world, in terms of cars per capita. Statistics from the Department of Economic Planning and Development said there were 2.65 people per vehicle, while vehicle ownership was expected to reach 160,000 by the end of last year. Brunei's population was recorded at 393,372.

In a past report, Development Minister Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman said car ownership was rising at a rate of four per cent annually, while the population was increasing by three per cent every year. At the time, the minister floated the idea of curbing car ownership if congestion continued to worsen, citing Singapore's Certificate of Entitlement scheme as a possible solution.

The consultant said yesterday the high car ownership rate was responsible for congestion in the "under-populated" capital, with Jalan Gadong, Jalan Tutong and the Tungku-Link Highway being "particularly bad".

"If the population targets meet the Wawasan 2035 (Vision 2035), the country's transport infrastructure will not be able to support the expanding car use," Ho said.

Four peak periods were identified — once in the morning, twice during lunchtime (to and fro) and once in the afternoon — in line with the daily commute patterns of those surveyed.

The severity of the jams was reflected in the willingness of Bruneians surveyed to buy their way out of the problem.

"Congestion has become so bad that Bruneians said they would pay about $7 per hour to avoid long queues," Ho said.

Despite the high car ownership rate, survey respondents "do not favour the government building more roads", and instead called for more transport options to be introduced, as well as improvements to existing public transport.

Acting Director of Transport Policy Dr Hj Supry Hj Ladi said the public bus system needed improving in terms of "connectivity, punctuality, frequency and other general services such as the fare systems".

In this regard, he highlighted the recent initiative to revamp the public bus system under a five-year roadmap, starting with the introduction of a colour-coded system and a campaign to reduce waiting times from 30 minutes to 15 minutes over the next several years. "As for taxi services, we will be looking into this very soon," the transport official said.

The findings of the survey, which was completed a few months ago, were part of the LTMP's Cluster 1 Report. The Cluster 2 Report is in its "completion stage".

"This report will come up with recommendation to tackle those issues. This will be shared in due course once Report 2 is completed," Dr Hj Supry said.

The LTMP, which was launched in the middle of last year, is expected to recommend policy options "not just for the current issues, but also for the development of a long-term policy agenda to 2035 and beyond".

The LTMP will include the drafting of a Land Transport White Paper that will provide the government with "a focus on the long-term policies to improve the land transportation system", according to CSPS Chief Researcher Dr Diana Cheong Poh Poh.

"In addition to policy recommendations from the LTMP, we are also reviewing and formulating other policies that we believe would be practical and beneficial to the context of the nation from a holistic perspective," the acting Transport Policy director said.

"Of course, the introduction of these policies will be done (in the proper time frame and with) the appropriate approach."

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times