P a g e | i A NATIONAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY FRAMEWORK FOR JAMAICA: IMPLICATIONS FOR FINANCING THE SECTOR (A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) A Research Paper submitted to Dr. Catherine L. Ross in accordance with the requirement by the School of City and Regional Planning Program of Georgia Institute of Technology Tanya Tamara Bedward April 2013 College of Architecture School of City and Regional Planning Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia P a g e | 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Transportation forms the backbone to a country’s economy; consequently development of this sector is critical to a country’s overall progress. Jamaica, a developing country in the Caribbean, has over the years undertaken to enhance the different modes of transportation (land, sea and air) as a strategy for boosting its global competitiveness. In 2007 the Government of Jamaica (GoJ), through the then Ministry of Transport and Works developed the first National Transport Policy (NTP) that was aimed at streamlining the numerous development efforts that were being undertaken within the sector. The role of the Policy above all, was to outline a vision for the sector, one that would contextualize its activities within a common framework. A subsequent step to the promulgation of the NTP should have been the development of a National Transport Strategy (NTS); the provisions of this Strategy were to have been informed by that of the NTP and were to have created a roadmap which outlined how the Policy objectives were to be achieved within the context of the established visions. To date, however, a NTS was never prepared and the steps that have been taken towards implementing the NTP have been piecemeal in the absence of a set of prioritized strategies that should have been articulated in the strategy. In light of the effects of the global economic crisis, the availability of funding to the transport sector has become increasingly limited. As a consequence, it is even more critical to prioritize and expend the available funds in the most sustainable manner. It is believed that a NTS could provide the needed prioritized framework for the sector. As such this research is aimed at assessing Jamaica’s transport sector; the existing NTP; and the steps that have been and are currently being utilized by the GoJ to fund the implementation of transport projects and programs. It incorporates a comparative analysis approach using the United States of America (U.S.) as the comparative case. The process examines the transport planning process used by the U.S. government through the U.S. Department of Transportation, and in particular its experience with the strategic planning process. The comparisons were undertaken within the context of the differences that exist between the two jurisdictions, and therefore it is recognized that the lessons garnered from the U.S. experience might not be adoptable on a wholesale basis but should rather be tailored to the context of Jamaica’s administrative, legislative, institutional, political, social, economic and natural environments. The literature shows that strategic planning is an important and useful tool for policy implementation in the transport sector, which is vital to a country’s economic development. It also points to the need to undertake transport planning from a comprehensive inter-modal perspective. Transportation is essential to all other development sectors; as such the planning and development of this sector should also be undertaken within a multi-sectorial context. This approach will provide an opportunity for looking beyond P a g e | 2 the traditional sources of funds for the transport sector, to discovering and developing newer more innovative strategies. The table below shows a comparative analysis of the transport sector in both Jamaica and the U.S. General Comparative Analysis Summary between Jamaica and the U.S. Broad Areas Provisions Jamaica United States Institutional Overarching central government transport entity ✔ ✔ Structure Specialized entities (by modes) at the central government level ✔ ✔ Specialized entities (by modes) at the regional/ local government level p ✔ Regional transport planning body × ✔ National level Transport Board × ✔ An institution dedicated to transport research and development × ✔ Legislative Legislative provisions the guides development and operations of various ✔ ✔ Structure aspects of the country’s transport sector (all modes) Legislative and Policy register ✔ ✔ Administrative National Transport Policy - Integrated Strategic Issues: ✔ ✔ Structures - Increased private sector involvement - Improved sector coordination - User pay for transportation costs - Subsidies for social and economic benefit - Policy awareness and participation in policy development - Integration across modes - Increase access to transport and services in rural areas - Integrate transport policy, planning appraisal and integration across modes - Adequate regulations developed and enforced to meet international environmental and safety standards - Promote energy conservation and environmental protection National Transport Strategy - Integrated Strategic Issues: × ✔ - Safety (across modes) - State of Good Repair - Economic Competitiveness - Livable Communities - Environmental Sustainability Transport Land Transport (Road and Infrastructure, Transit) ✔ ✔ Modes Railway ✔ ✔ Air Transport ✔ ✔ Maritime Transport ✔ ✔ Pipelines × ✔ ✔ - included in NTP (may need revision), and to be addressed in the NTS × - Not included in NTP should be addressed in revision p - Partially Source: Author, 2013 P a g e | 3 While some similarities were revealed in the experiences of both countries were also vast differences; prominent among these is the fact that the U.S. has a more developed transport planning and administrative system and therefore provides lessons from which Jamaica may draw in embarking on a strategic transport planning process. There are areas within the transport sector that both countries have addressed in their policy and/or strategy documents, however while addressed\,m the extent to which it has been dealt with also allowed for areas to be identified where improvements might be necessary. In addition to making recommendations towards preparing a NTS, the NTP which will form the basis of this strategic framework, should be revised with a view to making it current and hence address the pertinent factors that could affect the state of the country’s economic competitiveness in the global arena. Illustrated in the following table are a number of important areas that were highlighted in the study, some of which were addressed in the NTP, others though addressed were not adequately dealt with, and in some instances the areas were not addressed at all. Since efforts to develop a NTS for Jamaica will be pivotal on the provisions of the NTP, this provides an ideal opportunity for the Policy to be revised while steps are being take to develop the Strategy. Summary Areas for revision/ inclusion in the NTP and NTS SUBJECT NTP NTS Data requirements × ✔ The adoption of technology × ✔ Reducing the impact of the transport sector on the natural p ✔ environment Prioritization × ✔ Internalizing externalities in the transport sector × ✔ Transportation – land use relationship p ✔ Safety within the transport sector ✔ ✔ Catering to needs of the transportation disadvantaged p ✔ Aligning the NTP (and NTS) with MTWH processes × ✔ Enhancing the capacity of the MTWH staff and enhancing × ✔ customer service Revision period for the policy ✔ ✔ ✔ - included in NTP (may need revision), and to be addressed in the NTS × - Not included in NTP should be addressed in revision p - Partially Source: Author, 2013 P a g e | 4 While it is important to develop a strategy for the transport sector, is cannot be seen as a panacea neither can it be seen as a one-off process. The commitment of the relevant stakeholders is vital to the effectiveness of the strategic planning procedure. The Strategy should ideally be integrated into the existing administrative, planning and budgeting process within the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing which is expected to have oversight of this planning process. This research essentially provides a framework that might be used in the process of developing a NTS for Jamaica. P a g e | 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research is the result of combined efforts and contribution by a number of individuals. I want to first of all thank the School of City and Regional Planning (SCARP) at Georgia Tech for providing this opportunity as a part of the curriculum, to explore an area of interest from an academic perspective, but with a view to making a viable contribution to the planning practice within the professional sphere. Thanks to Dr. Catherine L. Ross who has been very helpful in providing ongoing guidance for the duration of the research and as my academic advisor during my tenure in the Program. I am thankful to members of staff at the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing in Jamaica, who were very helpful in assisting in whatever way they could to facilitate my research, and in providing feedback and information that helped to strengthen this study. In particular, I would like to recognize: Dr. Janine Dawkins, Mr. Barrington Mills, Mr. George Nicholson, Ms. Dawn Smith, Mrs. Deidrie Hudson-Sinclair, Ms. Valerie Simpson, Ms. Paula Brown, Ms. Shernette Sampson and Ms. Lorette Scarborough from the Ministry. To my other professional and academic colleagues who were always willing to hear my thoughts and provide