DR ranks third in vehicle per capita in Latin America
It is no secret that the traffic situation in Santo Domingo is horrible. The unpublished truth is that the present and past governments have been major contributors to the problem. The government commercial bank, Banco de Reservas, has sponsored dozens of “car fairs” over the years, offering the lowest market interest rates for people to purchase cars. Other leading banks have followed. Car vending businesses are all over the cities.
The local economic bonanza, combined with low bank rates for car purchases, has made roads a nightmare for commuters.
A recent report in Diario Libre says the Dominican Republic is third in Latin America in the number of vehicles per inhabitant. There are 507.8 motorized vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in the Dominican Republic. The per capita places the DR only behind Argentina (590 per 1,000), Brazil (521 per 1,000), and Mexico (286 per 1,000), three countries that are major exporters of vehicles.
Constant honking, ever-lasting traffic jams, and a general lack of knowledge of the “rules of the road” characterize driving in the Dominican Republic. Trying to get anywhere is a nightmarish adventure, and one’s bodily safety is often at risk. Traffic jams happen most of the day, with some breathers at odd times.
An expert in sustainability and a businessman, have come together to offer some possible solutions. Above all, there is the issue of safety. This is because walking has become an unsafe activity in much of the nation’s biggest urban areas. And so, restructuring transportation begins with safety.
For Javier Bonett, a businessman, the government must prioritize the safety of its citizens to create a complete renewal of its transportation and traffic issues. For Bonett, the Santo Domingo Metro system is not working as well as it should because the government has skipped several important steps.
One of the areas criticized is the overcrowded condition of the Metro units. The sustainability expert, Alex Ramirez, told reporters from Hoy newspaper, that he and Bonett agree that to alleviate the situation, the government needs to install more modern systems, such as mag-lev trains and elevated trains which offer modern alternatives and are safe and have high carrying capacity. These high-tech solutions, according to the opinion of Ramirez and Bonett have been overlooked for too long by the competent authorities.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Nov 5, 2024
Category: DR News |