Provo Needs a Proper Public Transportation System

Martini: Signora, between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps called the Semmering. It is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains. They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice. They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip. They built it because they knew some day, the train would come.

The quote above is from a Movie - Under the Tuscan Sun. In that movie it was used to confirm an idea and an ideal, that where there is a vision (by the Government) that is carried out to completion, then the people benefit.

Twenty years ago, upon arrival in Turks and Caicos, I was very much impressed with the amazing Bus Stops. They were built with precision and flair, that seemed practical and well thought out. At the time there was no bus system of any kind, but I was hopeful that any government that would invest in something like this would eventually "roll out" an amazing system.

It is now, many years later and several exchanges of political parties has had their turn at "managing" the country. In all that time, not one of these parties saw fit to complete those projects and provide the people of Providenciales with a functioning mass transit system.

Why is a three-letter word that has become so powerful in this context? Many of the politicians that have "come through" have visited, studied or spent time in countries where a bus system was the "back bone" of transportation. These same politicians would use the system and later, at home talk about giving anecdote of things they saw happening on these various buses. Yet when they "come home" for some, reason, it has never occurred to them that their country and Island could benefit from such an "important" system?

Development, or should I say hotels have proliferate in Providenciales and they require 24-hour staffing, which means that several hundred people have to "move” from home to work at regular intervals every day.

A bus system could and would ensure that these people get from work to home and back efficiently and safely. However, there is none, so what just happened instead? An "illegal" cadre of jitneys has evolved. Certain residents using their personal cars to transport these workers.

For this article, I will not go into the issues that this create. Suffice it to say that there are people here making a "living"....a very lucrative one...from this illegal industry.

A bus system, coupled with a well run meter cab system would make it possible for the TCI Government to eradicate the Jitney.

So, I have succeeded in posting out the problem. To complete the circle, I ought to provide "one" possible solution. In this way, by putting it out in the "public domain", no one can claim that he / she did not know - yes?

Here goes, the cost of a public bus system for Providenciales and how many Buses needed to Run it.

To design a bus system for transporting 5,000 people to work on Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos, considering three peak times (7-9 AM, 3-6 PM, and 12 midnight), we can follow these steps:

1. Understand Peak Demand

Since you have three peak times, we need to estimate the distribution of passengers during these times.

For simplicity, let's assume:

Morning Peak (7-9 AM): 40% of total passengers;

Afternoon Peak (3-6 PM): 40% of total passengers;

Midnight Peak: 20% of total passengers.

2. Calculate Passengers During Each Peak time

Morning Peak:5,000 \times 0.4 = 2,000 passengers;

Afternoon Peak: 5,000 \times 0.4 = 2,000 passengers;

Midnight Peak: 5,000 \times 0.2 = 1,000  passengers.

3. Determine bus capacity and trips

Bus capacity: 31 seats. Round trip time, assuming a round trip takes 30 minutes, a bus can make (trips per bus in 2 hours) = 120 minutes - 30 minutes per trip = 4 trips.

Trips in 1 hour (for Midnight Peak): 1 bus can make 2 trips since the timeframe is 1 hour.

4. Calculate total capacity needed for each peak time

Morning peak capacity: (Total capacity needed = 2,000 passengers at 4 trips = 500 passengers needed at once).

Afternoon peak capacity: (Total capacity needed = 2,000 passengers at 4 trips = 500 passengers needed at once).

Midnight peak capacity: (Total capacity needed = 1,000 passengers at 2 trips = 500 passengers needed at once).

5. Calculate the number of buses needed.

Morning Peak: Buses Needed = 2000 31-seater at 4 trips is approximately 16.13 -17 buses.

Afternoon Peak: Buses Needed = 2000 passengers at 31 seats at 4 trips, approximately 16.13 -17 buses.

Midnight Peak: Buses Needed = 1000 at 31 seats at 2 per trips is approximately 6.13 - 16 buses.

6. Summary of Buses Needed

Morning Peak (7-9 AM): 17 buses

Afternoon Peak (3-6 PM): 17 buses

Midnight Peak: 16 buses

7. Total Buses Needed

To ensure that all shifts are covered, you’ll need a fleet that can accommodate the highest demand at any given time. Thus, you should have a total of 17 buses (this should covers both morning and afternoon peak times), and 16 buses for midnight, plus a minimum of 3 - 4 busses in reserve.

8. Depot Design

For a bus depot -  Central location on Providenciales, close to major work hubs, especially in the hotel industry.

9. Facilities

Parking bays for the buses, maintenance area for bus repairs, driver facilities (break room, restrooms), ticketing/management office, waiting area for passengers. This design will ensure that all 5,000 people can be efficiently transported to work during the specified peak times.

Keep in mind, dear reader, that I am not a social engineer and have no training in public transportation. I have also deliberately left out the daily movement of people that are just going about their lives, shopping, or simply to the beach. May additional buses be needed? However, as mentioned earlier in this article, the bus system ought to be "coupled" with a meter cab system.

How much would this entire System cost to implement?

The math can be worked out by the group (Public / Private Partnership or Private) that will take on the challenge. All the "numbers" are readily available online: Cost of individual bus, cost to ship, customs etc. A simple

spread sheet can be used to determine what a fare (per ride) should be? AI can be used to refine operating procedures and routes?

Once fully implemented (staffed, routes established, payment system engaged, number of busses running) the general public should reap the benefits of secure and safe transport throughout the Island.

Jitneys can then be "phased" out. The manner determined by the TCI Police Department?

Keep in mind, dear reader, that there is no one solution to this perennial problem. What has been presented here is just an idea. In the hope that the TCI Government will take a hold of it and "follow through", so that at some point in the near future we, the residents, can have a functioning public transit system