TRANSPORTATION IN
COSTA RICA:
Where Do We Want to Go?
Costa Rica has more than four million
inhabitants and covers a relatively small
area of 51,000 square kilometres. It takes
less than one day to cross this friendly
tropical country by bus, both from West to
East (from the Pacific Ocean to the
Atlantic) and from North to South (from the
Nicaraguan border to Panama). Mountain
chains traverse the country, and thus the
population is concentrated in the valleys.
More than fifty percent of the population
lives in the central valley, which boasts a
pleasant climate, the best agricultural
land, four of the country's seven
provinces, and San José, the capital
city.
These features would seemingly make the
central valley an ideal site for an urban
development model in accordance with the
economic, social and environmental
principles of sustainable development. The
reality, however, is very different.
Consumption of petroleum products rose from
46 percent of total energy consumption in
1990 to 72 percent in 1999. In recent
years, the country's oil payments have
taken up between 10 and 17 percent of its
income from exports. Furthermore, the
neoliberal tendencies of the government are
leading Costa Rica towards an imminent
ecological and social collapse. One of the
human activities that most crudely reflects
this frightening state of affairs is urban
transport.
Most of the population uses public or
alternative means of transportation,
especially in rural areas. However, the
current fleet of 640,000 vehicles in Costa
Rica is growing at the impressive rate of
50,000 vehicles per year. The great
majority of these vehicles are privately
owned cars, and they are concentrated in
the central valley. In San José alone, 60
percent of the total number of vehicles
circulates each day. This abundance of
vehicles causes air and noise pollution,
traffic jams and accidents.
Programmes implemented by the Ministry
of Public Works and Transportation to
improve the traffic situation include
fruitless attempts to control exhaust
emissions and periodic changes in the
directions of streets. The basic problems,
however, are ignored: energy consumption,
deteriorating quality of life, and the
appropriation of urban space for private
cars. The authorities have never considered
the possibility of implementing legal
mechanisms aimed at reducing the number of
private cars and at the same time
increasing, improving and making public
transportation more accessible. Public
transportation has the potential to be
safer, more economical and more
environmentally friendly, and is
significantly more efficient in its use of
urban space. This political blindness is
partly in obedience to the commercial
interests of the automobile and oil
sectors, which wield significant economic
and political power in Costa Rica as they
do elsewhere in the world. But let us
return to our first scenario, and try to
imagine a sustainable transportation system
for Costa Rica.
A Bike Ride Through the Central
Valley
In a single morning, it is possible to
cross the four provincial capitals in the
central valley (Cartago, San José, Heredia
and Alajuela) by bicycle. This doesn't mean
that bicycling should be promoted as the
main means of transportation, but in
combination with a good public
transportation system and appropriate
facilities for pedestrians, the bicycle
forms part of the complex integrated
solution required by today’s huge traffic
problems. Up to now, however, urban
planners have not given the bicycle the
attention it deserves. Bicycle paths and
special parking areas are nowhere to be
found, and using a bicycle as a means of
transportation in Costa Rica is a reckless
act that is also considered a sign of
economic hardship.
Among its many qualities, this versatile
vehicle excels in its high level of energy
efficiency, optimal use of urban space and
zero environmental impact. Specialists in
other countries have recognized the bicycle
as the ideal means of transportation for
distances of less than five kilometres. In
addition, considering that health problems
related to sedentary habits are increasing
daily in Costa Rica, the bicycle can be
seen as a basic element in a sustainable
transport system.
Public Transport
Another basic element in a sustainable
transport system is public transportation.
At present, public means of transportation
(including taxis and city and intercity
buses) service most of the country. Taxi
and bus rates are regulated by the
government, but taxi and bus companies are
managed by private owners who receive
concessions. A large part of the bus fleet,
particularly the urban one, is obsolete,
and there are not enough bus lines for long
routes, often forcing users to take two or
more buses.
The proliferation of unauthorized
"pirate" taxis has been practically
impossible to control, resulting in
demonstrations by legal taxi drivers and
public confrontations with the authorities.
It is obvious, however, that the current
system doesn't have the capacity to satisfy
the growing demand for transport, and an
increase in the number of authorized taxis
is urgently needed. A positive side to the
presence of pirate taxis, aside from being
an important source of work, is that they
have popularized useful new modes of
service. For example, collective or shared
taxis are now common in some
communities.
The Costa Rican environmental movement
is in favour of increasing the number of
buses and taxis, and supports the
improvement of the entire public
transportation system. We also feel that
fares should be lowered through taxes and
subsidies to make public transport more
feasible for low income residents, and that
private cars should be restricted in order
to stimulate the use of public and
collective transportation. One possible
mechanism for reducing the number of
private cars is to tax them heavily, except
in proven cases in which owners need their
own vehicles due to physical limitations or
the nature of their work.
Costa Rican Choo-Choo
An ocean-to-ocean railway system,
constructed in the nineteenth century to
transport coffee for export from the
central valley to the port of Limon on the
Atlantic coast, passes through San José.
Rail service was suspended in 1994,
although the press has recently reported
that two international consortiums are
interested in modernizing Costa Rica’s
railway system and are bidding for
concessions. Modernization of the railways
would be another basic element of a
sustainable transportation system.
The National Power and Light Company has
an electric transportation department, and
the media is now talking about electric
vehicles for the future. Electric vehicles
will not, however, be the panacea for
transportation problems. If all private
cars were ultimately replaced with electric
cars, urban areas would be less polluted
but there would be no reduction in space
problems and traffic accidents. In
addition, the environmental problems caused
by the energy consumption of a large fleet
of private cars would move from the cities
to the rivers due to the development of
more hydroelectric projects. It is indeed
necessary to leave behind the era of
transportation based on hydrocarbon
combustion, but at the same time we must
develop collective consumption habits and
new sources of energy with a reduced
environmental impact and fewer risks than
those created by hydroelectric dams or
nuclear plants.
Costa Rica is the ideal place to develop
a sustainable transportation model.
Pedestrian facilities, bicycles, buses,
taxis, trains and streetcars could help us
out of the current crisis caused by the
unrestricted proliferation of inefficient
and anachronistic private cars. The
solution for sustainable transportation has
two main pillars: collective services and
energy sources with minimal environmental
impact. Achieving a sustainable transport
society depends on the strength of our
social and environmental commitment.
Juan Figuerola,
volunteer
member of the Natural Resources Watch
Committee, collaborates with COECOCEIBA/FoE
Costa Rica. He can be found at
juaneco@racsa.co.cr
.
Translated into English by Sherry Lynn
Prior.
