Given the explosion in vehicle numbers in Bahrain and the government’s efforts to come up with radical solutions to address the issue of traffic congestion, I feel the time has now come when these solutions are no longer adequate. Not only have the number of vehicles skyrocketed in the last few years, the population has also grown considerably. So, it is but natural that more vehicles are out there than perhaps our roads can conveniently handle. Figures from 2014 revealed there were 650,000 vehicles in the country for a population of 1.3 million people.
However, we see every day there is a growing problem of traffic jams, congestion on the roads, accidents and other related problems. These have not only exposed significant design flaws, it has also damaged our infrastructure. It is certainly not appropriate in a developed country like ours for senior officials to continue making excuses while appearing on radio and television and posting on social media. They should be committed to openness and transparency and come up with real and positive suggestions that would lead to real solutions for the problems road users face. The mere visit by a minister or a senior official to the site of a major incident, when it happens, is just not enough. On the other hand, there should be an integrated system in all ministries that operates under a unified command that reports to the minister concerned. This will result in collective action rather than different ministers and officials visiting the scene and getting media coverage in the bargain. The achievements, thus, would speak for themselves. I have a suggestion. Why not have flexible timings for office-goers, even if only in the government sector?
This would result in people leaving for work in a staggered manner rather than hitting the road at the same time. In my view, offices can start to function from, say between 7 and 8 am, which would give a 60-minute window for people to leave home. This, surely, would reduce congestion on the roads significantly. This very flexible system has already been applied in many institutions and private companies and has proved to be successful, with no one complaining. Though this may be the perfect solution, it of course needs a bit of co-ordination with the Civil Services Bureau. We have to make things simple and move away from the bureaucracy and its complexity.