by Rod Hughes

Due to obsolete bus routing, the percentage of the population commuting by public transit has declined in the past 13 years, according to a report published today in the newspaper La Nacion.

The result is increased traffic glut and pollution resulting from any more vehicle on the roads and streets, especially in the metropolitan area. In 2003, private cars numbered 730,000. Currently, it numbers around 900,000 and is climbing.

The numbers turned up in an European Union-financed study of 14,000 households asked about their communiting habits and needs are clear. In 1994, 66% of the population communted aboard buses while only 18% drove. This year, 54% of the people used buses while the number of those using private vehicles zoomed to 31%.

Experts say the villain in this proliferation of traffic and pollution are the antiquated routes that gather up bus passengers from suburbs and dump them in central San Jose where they must trek to another bus stop and board another bus to continue their journey, because of the lack of inter-suburban transport.

The newspaper uses the example of the large number of Moravia residents who must journey to downtown San Jose in order to get to their jobs in the industrial area of Barreal de Heredia. Study coordinator Timas Martinez points out that since 1994, large populations have shifted into new housing developments in suburban areas, changing communting patterns.

The bus is still the cheapest way to go, averaging 31 U.S. cents per trip as opposed to $1.50 for the same distance, and no doubt more people would use that service if it were more convenient. As it stands now, it often is not even feasible for the worker and is, at best, exhausting.

A bright spot in this is the possiblity of expanding train service which links downtown San Jose with Heredia and takes but 25 minutes terminal to terminal. One would hope this study will serve the Ministry of Transport as a goad to study and implement new routes tailored to commuter needs.

If the price of petroleum continues to rise, the demand for more and better public transport will grow.