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Transportation is one of the basic necessities of every individual. It also plays a vital role in the economic activities.
However, it has some costs associated with it, including delay, pollution and loss of life and property damage in the event of accidents. This is the reason that it has become an area of primary concern for governments as well as international bodies, such as the UN.
It is good to see that the Bahraini government is also looking to mitigate the traffic problems by reducing demand on its roads. However, the proposal of restricting delivery riders on roads is like someone who gets a haircut to lose his weight, and that too, when his hair is the most attractive feature in his personality.
Let me explain why I have given this example.
Looking at the statistics of registered vehicles in Bahrain and those which are involved in road accidents, you will clearly see that the share of motorcycles in both cases is less than 10 per cent.
So, any traffic demand management strategy should be focused on restricting the use of personal cars which have the most significant share in traffic volume and accidents.
In fact, these delivery riders are serving the government in reducing car trips. Each one of those delivery riders must be fulfilling at least 10 orders a day, and this number would be much higher on weekends which means that each one of them is taking at least 10 car trips off the roads.
If anything, they must be facilitated through separate lanes and parking spaces to do their jobs efficiently. These riders belong to the low-income category, many of them lost their jobs and businesses during period of Covid restrictions and started the job of delivering for the sake of survival. Doing something which specifically targets them, may induce unrest and anxiety in them.
If any type of bike riders need restrictions then those should be the ones which come on their heavy bikes in groups during the peak hours on weekends on the main roads. They cause more noise pollution and present a bigger safety hazard than poor deliver riders. And they do it just to satisfy their fancies which can be done on any other time, day and location.
In the end, I would reiterate my earlier point.
Traffic in Bahrain mainly consists of cars and unless something is done to control their demand and growth, all other strategies will remain ineffective.
Dr Uneb Gazder
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Limiting working hours could help reduce accidents but for the riders it is a disadvantage as it will reduce their working hours and hence reduce their income.
For some of the riders maybe it’s the only way to get a little more income to send to their families back home. Specifically, at this time, because of the Covid situation, people are really struggling with money, and reducing their working hours will only make their situation worse.
Instead stricter road rules can be imposed on everyone. For example, more fines for all riders not following the driving rules, making protective driving equipment compulsory on all roads, speed limit should be reduced on certain busy roads.
Jessie Barretto
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