Jamaica’s most volatile times as an independent nation have followed the global fallout of an oil crisis. The Gas Riots of 1979, 1985, and 1999 stand as violent emblems of the extreme vulnerabilities our way of life faces with a largely unchecked dependence on fossil fuels. Transportation is foundational to the productivity of our economy and any disruption to this system will have significant impacts. Higher oil prices stemming from a shock to global oil supplies have historically resulted in a downturn in Jamaica’s economy, contributing to an acceleration in inflation and higher levels of indebtedness.

Our transportation system is distinctly car-dependent, which means we have a high level of per capita car travel, car-oriented land use patterns, and reduced transport alternatives. In 2019, the largest single import into the island was refined petroleum (14%), with the largest portion used in the transportation sector. The second-largest was low occupancy private cars (6%) with the vast majority powered by imported fossil fuels. The data suggest that reducing our car dependency would substantially increase our preparedness for global oil shocks. However, our physical infrastructure and political context have created systematic roadblocks that make alternatives to car-centric development difficult yet extraordinarily necessary.

To create a sustainable, equitable, and productive urban environment, we need to drastically expand our transportation options to offer legitimate and dignified alternatives to private cars.
‍

UNDERSTANDING CAR CULTURE:

A supermajority of residents in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) do not own cars nor use them as their primary mode of transportation. Despite this, the infrastructure that makes up our transit network is specifically designed to advantage private car use by reducing the viability of other options. This is a fact acknowledged in the 2017 Provisional Development Order for Kingston & St. Andrew (DO).

“At present, the transport system favours movement by private motor vehicles…There however, needs to be a comprehensive transport plan which facilitates a better modal split.”

However, our transport system does not simply “favour” cars over other modes, there are an intentional set of policies and investments that have created an environment dominated by private motor vehicles and a dangerous and frustrating environment for those who walk, bike, and take public transportation. The gradual rise in car ownership says less about “car culture” in Jamaica and more about our lack of transportation choices. The way we design our streets and plan our cities have emphasized that the only dignified transportation option is to buy and drive a private car.
‍

Participating in any “car culture” is out of reach for the vast majority of our population. Private cars are a real financial burden on our households; only the highest earning Jamaicans can afford to operate a car to a sustainable standard. Outside of the purchase price, conservative estimates put the running costs around $JMD 560K per year, and this does not include the costs associated with servicing an auto loan. Congestion and urban sprawl generated by our car-dependent development patterns increase fuel consumption and the wear and tear of our cars and road infrastructure, and burdens like fuel and vehicle parts are highly vulnerable to inflation in Jamaica. If we include the health impact of vehicular emissions and accidents, the cost of car dependency becomes even more unsustainable.‍
‍

" Our oversupply of parking lots pushes services further from each other, extending travel time and distance. "

HOW DOES CAR DEPENDENCY BURDEN US?

Car dependency increases the cost of living and pushes goods and services further away

The biggest challenge with accommodating private cars is what to do with them when they are not in use. They spend 95% of their time in storage and require a lot of space; the average parking space is about 330sf, (about the size of a studio apartment). The Development Orders mandates a significant allocation of land area to private cars through Parking and Loading Requirements; they determine the minimum number of parking spaces for any new development. As a result, we have an oversupply of parking in the KMA that affects affordability in two ways.

1. Developers are mandated to construct this parking at no cost to users, so they bundle it with all the other costs tenants have to pay. To cover these costs, business tenants increase the cost of their goods and services. For residential tenants, it means more expensive rents that limit available housing options in urban areas.
2. The occupation of valuable land by parking restricts the supply of more productive developments like affordable housing, schools, hospitals, or public spaces and inflates the cost of the ones already built.

As the cost of living becomes more expensive in the core of the KMA, residents are pushed further to the periphery, where housing is cheaper and creates the cycle of urban sprawl. This issue becomes problematic for local governments that must expand their infrastructure beyond what they can maintain to meet the new demand along the periphery. Alternatively, residents may be forced to enter informal housing or working arrangements to remain within the core, which reduces the tax base and worsens the situation for local governments.

Parking requirements artificially create more demand for parking; by producing an environment where the most viable way to move around is by car. Our oversupply of parking lots pushes services further from each other extending travel time and distance. While this may be easily covered in a car, it puts biking, walking, and, by extension, public transportation at a disadvantage. Barren walls along our streets, excessive curb cuts, and buildings accessible only from large parking lots are all features of an urban form created by parking requirements that is hostile to pedestrians.
‍

In 2019, pre-Covid congestion cost major US cities $1,364 USD per driver in lost productivity and environmental damage.

Car dependency creates congestion that wastes your time and money.
‍
In 2018, work was completed on the Constant Spring Road Improvement Project, the goal was to reduce traffic congestion and travel time and enhance safety along the corridor. The plan effectively doubled the area allocated for private vehicle use, expanding the roadway to 4 lanes and reducing the size of sidewalks. This meant that 80% of the street was reserved for motor vehicles, 20% for pedestrians, and remarkably 0% for cycling. Similar projects occurred along Hagley Park Road, Barbican Road, and Mandela Highway.

While it seems intuitive that increasing the capacity for motor vehicles along our corridors will reduce traffic congestion, this only works in the short term. It's a phenomenon known as induced demand; when motorists recognize that the increased road capacity is more convenient, they will make more trips and choose that corridor more often over others. Eventually, traffic will return, and as development occurs along this corridor, demand will increase again. You can see this along the Constant Spring corridor that continues to be congested during peak hours despite the costly investment.

Congestion has considerable impacts on the productivity of our economy and the quality of life of residents. If we include factors like pollution and vehicular accidents, congestion can cost cities billions of dollars every year. In 2019, pre-Covid congestion cost major US cities $1,364 USD per driver in lost productivity and environmental damage.
‍

...it would require $JMD 203 billion each year to maintain our main roads at their current standard, but in 2021 the NWA was allocated only $JMD 2.7 billion from the budget.

Car-dependency requires expensive infrastructure that we cannot maintain.
‍
The reality is that low-occupancy private cars are not a feasible solution for the mobility needs of the entire KMA, let alone the island. We cannot build and maintain enough infrastructure for a nation of drivers. Jamaica has one of the densest road networks in the world, consisting of over 16,000 km of paved roadway that needs to be maintained, with the single largest portion lying within the KMA. The Transport Sector Plan for Vision 2030 recognizes that complete maintenance of our roadways is not possible:

“Over the long term Jamaica’s existing road network will have to be rationalized as it will not be possible to maintain the entire network at the same standards. Road maintenance will have to be prioritized based on economic and social criteria, including consideration of the relative costs and benefits of primary, secondary and tertiary road networks.”

In 2020, the National Works Agency (NWA) conducted a study to assess the condition of our main roads (which represent about 20% of our road network) and the resources necessary to sustain them. Their study found that it would require $JMD 203 billion annually to maintain our main roads at their current design standard; that represents about 22% of our national budgeted expenditure for the year. But in 2021, the NWA was allocated only $JMD 2.7 billion. We find ourselves in an unsustainable situation; our investments in road infrastructure are not generating enough wealth to pay for its maintenance.
‍

Car-dependency reduces the viability of more affordable transportation alternatives
‍

Walking, cycling, and public transit are the most affordable transportation options for any Jamaican; but our infrastructure for these alternatives is severely underdeveloped. Pedestrian networks throughout the KMA are disjointed and untraversable in many cases. The NWA performs no maintenance or rehabilitation work for sidewalks unless there is a major capital project slated. Bike lanes are crucial infrastructure to protect cyclists, but none exist in our cities. Progressive decline in revenues and mismanagement at JUTC have made mass transit in the KMA unreliable and unable to meet the demand of a growing population. This lack of investment has real consequences measured in lives - pedestrians and cyclists represent the majority of traffic fatalities between 2017 and 2021. 

In 2007 the then Ministry of Transport and Works developed the first-ever National Transportation Plan (NTP) meant to provide a vision for the sector and how transportation would contribute to the development of Jamaica. The plan emphasized that:

“Public transport services provide the most effective means and broadest scope for offering the majority of the public a viable and economical means of mobility. However, the existing road system and road infrastructure does not adequately give advantage to, nor promote the use of public transport nor facilitate the efficient operation of public passenger vehicles.”

Fifteen years have passed since the creation of this policy; we have seen incredible investment and development of infrastructure for private motor cars through lane expansions and bifurcations that reduce space allocated on our streets for other modes of transportation. Without a comparable investment in infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and mass transit, they will become less and less viable as alternatives to our car-dependent development.

REINFORCING BEHAVIOURS

Several contradicting policies reinforce our car dependency as a nation, but the most crucial is that a significant portion of our public revenue is also car-dependent. The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) receives billions of dollars from a special consumption tax (SCT) on gas and customs duties on private motor vehicles.

We all pay our gas tax at the pumps and expect our main roads to be maintained; however, according to the figures outlined by the NWA, revenue from our gas tax comes nowhere near to funding the necessary maintenance. We could increase the gas tax to cover these costs, but that would make driving unaffordable for most Jamaicans resulting in reduced revenues for the GOJ. It's impossible to balance; our gas tax cannot achieve a rate that incentivizes motor vehicle travel to generate income while also meeting our maintenance needs.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

It is possible to become less car-dependent; many cities have done it and many more are currently doing it. And if we do, our national and household economies will be more stable, and the places we live in will be safer, cleaner, healthier, more vibrant, and more inclusive. The strategies to get us there aim at creating more diverse communities and a more balanced transportation system that centres on people and not cars.
‍

1. Thicken our communities: When people live in dense, diverse, and mixed-use environments, goods and services are easier to get to without a car, this means having stores, daycares, and doctor's offices embedded within our residential neighborhoods. It also means having housing options in the places where we work. Urban policies can facilitate this type of development in new and existing communities through mixed-use zoning.
2. Improve and increase our mobility options: Many assume the financial burden of car ownership because few viable alternatives feel dignified, safe, or efficient. Investments in people-based infrastructure like sidewalks, shade structures, plants, and street furniture make walking more comfortable for those who can and cannot afford cars. Proportionate funding needs to be allocated to non-car transportation alternatives that match the percentage of the population that uses these means.

The current global oil crisis has again exposed this glaring vulnerability in our transportation system. We must take the opportunity to reassess our priorities and pivot our policies and investments away from car dependency. Cars play a meaningful role in a transportation system; however, they are too inefficient at moving goods and services across municipalities to justify the amount of space they take up along our transit networks. We must understand them as a luxury of convenience simply because of the immense cost of accommodating them.

‍