The professor of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis and director of the Chair of Economy and Mobility CajaCanarias-University of La Laguna (ULL), Rosa Marina González, believes that in order to try to resolve the historic problem of traffic jams on the Northern highway (TF-5) it is necessary to apply a cocktail of mobility management measures that requires the involvement of users and includes the promotion of teleworking; the flexibility of schedules; the development of collective transport for companies and entities; the promotion of public transport, which should offer advantages “especially in terms of time”; the creation of interchanges to park at strategic points to facilitate access to public or collective transport, and the sacrifice of one of the lanes of the northbound TF-5 to serve as a lane for buses and Vehicles with High Occupancy (HOV) in the direction Santa Cruz in moments of greatest circulatory chaos. This reversible lane, which was already tested in isolation and without success in June 2010, is now one of the few hopes that traffic jams can be reduced.
The basic ingredient of the application of this cocktail of measures is the reversible rail, which would provide a competitive advantage to public transport and to the HOVs: «The ideal would be to sacrifice one of the lanes that goes in the opposite direction to the circulatory chaos for this collective transport, a reversible lane like those used in other places. When people are standing in line and see the bus go by much faster, at that moment we can achieve this modal transfer from the car to public transport. It’s very difficult before.” In González’s opinion, “if the bus does not have exclusivity in the TF-5, it is not competitive, no matter how much the price drops.”
“Not in isolation”
Rosa Marina González qualifies that that reversible lane could be effective and viable, “as long as it is not tested in isolation and without other types of complementary and simultaneous measures. When this reversible lane is put into operation, other actions to promote collective transport should be applied through the offer of strategic interchanges and the management of parking lots at destinations, in order to reduce the volume of cars on the roads. On January 1, 2023, with the arrival of free public transport, “perhaps it could be a good time to start testing that reversible lane, although there we have a problem regarding financing and the capacity of public transport itself. The costs must be covered and I have doubts that the supply can take on the increased demand that can be generated.”
“When people are in line and see the bus go faster, a change can be achieved”
The director of the Chair of Economy and Mobility CajaCanarias-ULL stresses that “the user of public transport (especially those who carry out forced mobility for work or studies) does not look only at the price but above all takes into account travel time and quality: the offer, the frequency, the punctuality, the comfort, the reliability, the security or the geographical coverage». And he understands that this improvement is the one that should be invested in, “so the zero rate could generate a vicious circle that worsens quality due to excess demand.”
The times and the gratuity
He warns that experiences in other places than the free public transport by itself does not end the traffic problems. «Times are the key variable: if it takes me the same or longer in public transport than in a private vehicle, very few people will change modes of transport. We must begin to establish intermodality. Leaving home by car to go to an interchange and get on a bus, or reach that interchange by scooter, bicycle or on foot and then continue the trip by bus. Continuing my journey on an exclusive lane », he details.
The idea of collective transport for companies and study centers aims to facilitate these transfers in a more efficient way, so that the staff share means of transport even with other companies or centers in the area. These services would also have to be linked to the exchangers, so that users of the TF-5 will arrive at a “free or almost free” parking area to access conventional public transport, encourage the use of car sharing or facilitate those collective transport systems of companies or entities that could be, for example, the Cabildo, the ULL, institutes or hospitals. “Now, when a center is built in which a high attendance of people is expected, parking lots are created, not facilities for collective transport,” he laments.
The exchangers, which have been talked about for years without any being developed, are another key. These are large public car parks that facilitate the approach in private vehicle of the population, very dispersed in different nuclei, whose connectivity by public transport is complicated. “The buses cannot reach all the places where people live, but we can concentrate them in areas with easy access and easy parking,” says this ULL professor. These large car parks are, in her opinion, “fundamental.” In the North, only the La Villa Shopping Center, in Valle de the orotava, where 110,000 people live. The task of finding other areas to locate the rest remains pending.
«There are recipes and there are small actions that, if we add them up, could achieve results. In addition, while on the one hand public transport is improved, it would also be necessary to apply car restriction measures, about when only one person travels. The car should not be able to get anywhere or park in any area. Parking management measures must be applied », she warns. For this mobility expert, it is essential that the mistakes of the past are not repeated due to the application of isolated measures: «A reversible lane by itself is not the solution, nor would a single interchange without an exclusive lane or free public transport or low price”.
Yeray Hernández, PhD in Economics and researcher at the ULL Department of Applied Economics and Quantitative Methods, adds that “scientific evidence has repeatedly shown that expanding the road network or expanding the existing one does not solve the traffic problem. The consensus is practically total. In the case of studies carried out regarding the TF-5, it is pointed out that “it is quite difficult not to carry out works when the scenarios that are assumed imply permanent growth”.
“We must talk about measures that also include penalizing private transport”
One of the keys to begin to solve this problem would be, in Hernández’s opinion, “to work with scenarios that assume the need for mobility to decrease so as not to have to opt for aggressive solutions with the territory». In addition, he points out that, in the short term, “little can be done beyond the voluntary measures of private transport users such as car sharing, teleworking, schedule changes or using public transport, even if it is not as efficient. In urban contexts, more routes could be added on foot or by bicycle, even if that means putting ourselves at risk due to the absence of bicycle lanes, and also opting for public transport”.
«Disrule in mobility»
This expert believes that there has been “total misrule regarding the sustainable mobility on the island», so it is necessary to look at the medium and long term: «In the urban area, a meta-analysis was recently published that advocates discouraging car use and improving sustainable transport. After analyzing the experiences in several cities, they point out that the most effective measures are to apply congestion charges in urban areas, where drivers pay to enter and that income goes to promote public transport; the elimination of parking spaces to allocate that space to bike lanes and pedestrian areas, and limited traffic areas. All this can reduce traffic between 10 and 33% in urban areas. For intercity trips, public transport should be provided with bus lanes, which is a historical claim of Titsa, and improve the quality of the service. If this is applied simultaneously, it can work. And it’s pretty urgent.”
Hernández shares with González the concern for the impact of free public transport, “since when studies are carried out on the use of this type of transport, the differential factor is not so much in the price but in the quality, punctuality and routes”. To make the switch from private to public transport “dissuasive measures for car use are needed.” There are studies that reveal that the results of free public transport “are quite poor” and that its impact in reducing traffic “is quite marginal in the short term and absolutely irrelevant in the long term.”
Given the dispersion of the population in the North, to put an end to the tails of the TF-5, Hernández agrees that it is necessary to implement a package of measures that include dissuasive parking, with a good connection to public transport; the promotion of car sharing; the promotion of public transport with an exclusive lane, and the penalization of the use of the car. Regarding the failure of the reversible lane experience in June 2010, Hernández points out that “at that time the results were poor because it was an isolated measure,” between Tacoronte and Los Rodeos, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. «The measure was abandoned, but is it bad? Well, it is not known why it must be adapted with a package of measures that also includes the penalty of private transport, but who puts the bell on the cat?
