How Many More Vehicles Can St. Lucia’s Roads Handle?

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s any driver knows, traffic in Castries is the mother of all nightmares.  Accidents are sometimes to blame but too often the congestion is a consequence of too many vehicles on our roads.  Over the past five years, vehicle imports have dramatically increased. Figures from the Statistics Department indicate a total of 1,108 vehicles (new and used) were imported in 2013. In 2014, that number grew to 1,286. In 2015 and 2016, it climbed to 1,562 and 2,231 respectively. Last year saw 2,797 vehicles being imported, marking an increase of over 150% in just five years. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Levy was passed. This legislation imposed a fee on the import of goods, including new and used motor vehicles. The importation of new vehicles carried an additional charge of EC$1,000 while the fee imposed on used vehicles ranged from EC$6,000 to $12,000. These charges were subsequently removed. Per the Customs & Excise Department’s website, vehicle imports are subject to an import duty, excise tax, service charge and value added tax.

The STAR spoke with a representative of one of the leading car dealerships on-island about the situation. He indicated that the demand for cars in Saint Lucia is high, especially due to the current bus system. “Everybody needs to be moved from one place to the next but the bus system in this country doesn’t really exist; it’s really at the behest of one driver or another. If the buses are not reliable, people are forced to find a personal transportation solution.”

He agreed that there is indeed a congestion problem and that there are two contributing factors. “The lack of a bus system causes more private vehicles on the road. The system is not working well. People need cars so they buy them and businesses import cars to satisfy that demand.”

The other factor, the representative explained, is called the grey market. “You have what we call the “grey-market” which is importing used cars from all over the world. We new-car dealerships are very heavily regulated and scrutinized as to what we’re bringing in. On the flip side of the coin you have this grey market, which is completely unregulated doing what they want, how they want and when they want!

“I think it’s quite obvious where the problem lies. If it’s not controlled sometime soon, we’ll have severe problems.” Solution to the congestion problem, he advised, “lies partly in investment in the infrastructure, regulation directed at the biggest contributors and creative out-of-the-box thinking.”

As to whether a limit should be placed on the number of cars an individual could import, the dealer indicated: “Before that is looked at, the grey market needs to be looked at and some restrictions imposed.” 

Apart from the inconvenience experienced by drivers due to this ongoing congestion, there is also the issue of road deterioration. The dealership, while acknowledging that road damage is inevitable, believes that there is a need for more, and timely maintenance: “The roads are there for the vehicles and naturally we will always have problems with our roads. When the problems arise they need to be addressed from day one. Roads everywhere in the world need to be maintained.” The representative added: “One could argue that there ought to be a correlation between the revenue that is derived from motor vehicles and the maintaining and building of the infrastructure. There’s the import duty, the tax on petroleum and diesel, and registration of the vehicle. That’s an awful amount of money but there doesn’t seem to be any direct correlation.”

Stay tuned for more in this on-going series where this newspaper highlights road congestion and its effects on the island’s productivty.