“When I left Fiji three years ago there were no land motor.”
That reflection was part of a paper presented at the Imperial Motor Transport Conference in London in 1914
by Fiji historian, Adolf B. Brewster.
“We had two transitory visits of cars, one that was kept for a while by a resident and the other owned by a well-known motorist, Mr C.J. Glidden in a ‘Napier’,” Brewster continued.
According to Brewster, Glidden arrived in Fiji while on his way to Australia in 1905.
Back then Fiji had no cars so the motor’s “dashing about” in Suva was a “nine days of wonder to the natives”, according to a report in The Fiji Times of December, 1905.
Between 1913 and 1914, at least eight cars were running around the streets of the capital.
As you can imagine, the air in Suva’s streets would have been unadulterated and crisp, a far cry from today’s clogged roads and smoke-tinged atmosphere.
One of the first to own a car in Fiji was Sir Henry Marks.
According to The Fiji Times of January 31, 1914, he imported two large cars to transport people between Suva and the Rewa River.
This slowly became the start of Fiji’s automotive industry.
Fast forward to 2021 – cars have caused an invasion on our roads.
They have also spawned a host of problems, from potholes and frustrating traffic congestion to road accidents and air pollution.
Fiji Bureau of Statistics figures note that at independence, only 19,173 vehicles were registered in Fiji.
This is testament to the fact that the number of cars on our roads has increased exponentially over the years.
From around 19,000 in 1970, numbers increased to 47,290 vehicles in 1980; 80,139 in 1990; 114,743 in 2000 and 165,749 in 2010.
Since 1996, the number of registered vehicles in the country has remained above 100,000 annually, which means we have hit the 100k annual mark for 25 years.
That translates to 25 years of puffing out smoke from exhaust pipes (together with smoke factory chimneys) and 25 years of rattling on our roads.
While speaking at the opening of Land Transport Authority’s Express Office in Lamiin June 2020, LTA chairman Vijay Maharaj said by April the year before the total number of registered vehicles in Fiji stood at around 130,000.
Of this number, there were approximately 87,000 cars, 26,000 utility vehicles and 854 motor cycles.
While the number of cars may be an indicator of the wealth accumulated by families, its oversaturation on our limited and potholeriddled road networks has been a cause for concern.
In fact, the car numbers have not been the only thing shooting up.
Over the years, up also were the number of traffic violations, pothole problems, traffic accidents and deaths, and complaints from road users.
In just three months from January to March 2019, LTA speed cameras recorded more than 45,000 traffic violations.
Mr Maharaj said LTA had seen an exponential increase in the number of vehicles and drivers in Fiji in the past decade and that growth was predicted to continue.
“As of April this year (2020), total registered vehicles on Fiji roads stood at approximately 130,000. Majority of that number consisted of cars only (approximately 87,000) followed by utility and other vans at about 26,000,” Mr
Maharaj said.
While authorities have found the increasing number of vehicles in Fiji a challenge, it seems nothing concrete has been found to deal with the issue.
We only need to open our eyes to see that our system of road network system hasn’t changed very much to keep up with the influx of vehicles we are importing every month.
Our roads are plagued by massive potholes littered in almost every corner of our neighbourhood.
Our rush hour traffic congestions are getting and lasting longer.
They are also starting early in the morning and ending late in the evening.
In 2019, the LTA engaged an overseas vehicle inspection centre to carry out preshipment vehicle inspection in exporting countries.
The Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Center (JEVIC) was set up to sign off on vehicles in the country of origin before they were brought to Fiji.
This was an attempt to improve on the quality of cars on Fiji roads.
While the quality of cars has been the focus, the escalating numbers have not necessarily been controlled.
In June 2020, Minister for Commerce, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Koya highlighted the need for the organisation to establish standards for registration and licensing, controlling, coordinating, planning and implementing road safety in Fiji.
He added that an estimated 1.3 million people died each year from road fatalities and a further 10 million were injured as a result of road accidents globally.
This indicates that the increase in the number of cars on our roads, especially when road conditions and networks remain virtually unaltered, has the potential to increase the likelihood of accidents and deaths.
In the past few years, as climate change talks picked up at the global level, Fiji saw an increase in the number of hybrid vehicles imported from Japan because of an oversupply in the market.
These vehicles were supposed to be energy efficient and cost effective.
This would reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.
However, the presence of too many of these hybrid vehicles makes one wonder whether emissions have really been reduced.
Perhaps proper data collection is needed to ascertain whether this has been the case.
The fast pace of development and population expansion over the past few years within the Lami-Nausori corridor have greatly influenced the country’s transportation system to the point that it can be safe to deduce that efforts to reduce carbon emission is now questionable.
Fiji has indicated its commitment to reduce carbon emissions through a list of Nationally Determined Contributions, which is specific to the energy sector.
Our leaders aim to reduce our energy sector’s total carbon dioxide emissions by around 30 per cent by 2030.
Government hopes to achieve this through the transport sector. Land transport is supposed to be the biggest contributor to this mitigation effort.
However, if the number of cars on our roads is not controlled, if indicators of an oversupply like the deteriorating road conditions, increasing road accidents and offences and worsening road congestions, then talks of reducing greenhouse gases and being environmentally would be just hot air.
The rhetoric on climate crisis action needs to stop and decisive actions need to be made.
Replacing poorly-maintained diesel vehicles need to continue.
The importation of electrified cars, bus, rail or ferry routes are in the pipeline but this is yet to be realised. However, its drawback is it may not contribute to increasing revenue.
Research findings contained in the Fiji Transport Data Audit and Strategy 2020 has found out that although electronic vehicles would be energy efficient, it would contribute less to revenue annually than an internal combustion vehicle and hybrid vehicles.
Money therefore seems to be a key factor in allowing the amount of vehicles to invade on our roads. It would be interesting to know how government will deal with the problem.
Until we meet on this same page same time next week, stay blessed, stay healthy and stay safe!