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FINAL REPORT MONTEGO BAY · JAMAICA
nation, though they can be flagged down when needed and taken to almost any location in the city. Currently, only two major transportation hubs serve the city of Montego Bay. Most of the 2,700 route-taxis complete their routes at the existing Transportation Center (1,348 licensed taxis stop here) and at the Saint Clavers’ Car Park (676 licensed taxis stop here). Many routes, mostly from the northern parts of town, pass through the inner city to get to the existing Transportation Center. Secondary routes have their destination at taxi stands at King Street (248 licenses), Market Street (151 licenses), North Street (138 licenses) and William Street (160 licenses). William Street, close to the North Gully street market, is a very narrow street and most of the congestion is caused by route-taxis turning left from St. James Street. This taxi stand should be moved to a newly designed, North Transportation Center for the northern city taxi-routes. This should be implemented in order to decongest St. James Street in the downtown area. This, however, requires an in-depth traffic study. A properly designed public transportation system and the introduction of bus routes to efficiently serve the communities will meaningfully improve the quality of life of
residents by contributing to public order and reducing the congestion in the city. A properly regulated transportation system with environmental standards with regard to both emissions and fuel use could reduce future air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from local sources.
Sustainable Mobility Master Plan The establishment and implementation of a Sustainable Mobility Master Plan will be the foundation of better mobility for Montego Bay’s residents. The objective of this plan’s policies, programs, and actions will be to promote the use of sustainable transport modes (walking, biking, and public transportation) that reconcile economic, environmental, and social issues, with the result of improving the quality of life of citizens. The vision of this master plan is to decrease individual car and route-taxi traffic in the city and decongest the downtown area in order to improve the quality of public spaces. Decongesting downtown Montego Bay is a precondition to implementing the Downtown Walkability Project, which is described in the next section. This is why special attention will be given to the downtown area, to set the pillars of an organized and efficient integrated public transport system, and ensure access to mobility for the entire population, especial-
ly the most vulnerable or the disabled. National Works Agency (NWA) will conduct the following activities while developing the Sustainable Mobility Master Plan: • Assess transport supply and demand and their interaction, and pinpoint institutional, financial, regulatory, and land use issues related to mobility in Montego Bay. • Carry out an origin-destination analysis and compute a simple Transport Model for Downtown Montego Bay. • Develop a scheme for the spatial reorganization of the current location of the taxis stands and bus stations. • Organize the licensing of concessionaires through the Transportation Authority. In parallel, seek alternatives in order to reduce taxi licenses on those routes that will be served by buses. • Subsidize or otherwise incentivize the purchase of fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly buses, while creating the appropriate corresponding infrastructure at bus stations.