The
automobile sector is one of the most important industries
in the world, affecting not only the economy but also the
cultures of the world. It provides jobs for millions of people,
generates billions of dollars in worldwide revenues,
and provides the basis for a multitude of related services
and support industries. Automobiles revolutionized transportation
in the 20th century, changing forever the way people live,
travel, and do business.The automobile has enabled people
to travel and transport goods farther and faster, and has
opened wider market areas for business and commerce.
The
same applies to Mauritius as well. As a result of easier and
faster transportation, our economy has become dependent on
the mobility that automobiles, trucks, and buses provide.
This mobility allows remote populations to interact with one
another, which increased commerce. The transportation of goods
to consumers and vice versa has become an industry in itself.
The
major automobile dealers provide much of the sector's total
direct employment in Mauritius. The country registered in
the last decade an increase faster than usual of the fleet
of private cars and minibuses. The average annual car population
growth is 6.5%. Since there is no mandatory life for vehicles,
old vehicles are hence added on to the population.
With
people increasingly making use of their private means of transport
instead of the public transport to go to work, it has also
brought related problems, such as air pollution, the emission
of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, congested
traffic, and highway fatalities. Traffic congestion has become
acute in auritius, specially, in our main city Port Louis
during the peak hours because of the large number of work
trips entering the city.
Government
is presently looking for alternative means to curtail the
widespread use of the private vehicle at times and places
where they cause congestion.
Measures to introduce could be:
(i) Render the public transport system more attractive to
the users and re-establish its viability and sustainability.
(ii) A system of entrance fee for all private vehicles and
goods vehicles entering Port Louis at peak hours.
(iii) A system of “demand management”, with measures
seeking to reduce the volume of traffic, especially that of
private cars, rather than to increase, at high costs, the
capacity of the road network, should be favoured.
(iii) Give access to buses to the Central Business Area so
that passengers are able to get a door to door service, thereby
adding more comfort to bus travel.
Another
recommendation would be the introduction of a subway between
Curepipe and Port Louis using the old railway road.
Recently,
a Mauritian company, benefiting from foreign expertise, has
embarked in the pioneer adventure of building cars on a local
basis …
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