THE continuous chaotic traffic congestion experience in Honiara has irked public transport owners as it cuts their expected daily earning.
A bus owner spoken to said that the non-stop chaotic traffic jam in town has put them in difficult situation in terms of their business gain.
“It’s incredible that at the end of the day we can only earn $600-$800.
“When there’s a flow of traffic, we would have good catch up to $1000 plus,” he said.
A taxi owner added that the current traffic jam in town is a headache.
“It’s intolerable to stuck on the road for 4-5 hours.
“The stretch road from SINU Kukum Campus to Kukum market is the often worst place when there’s a traffic queue and also from China town to Point Cruz adding almost whole of the stretch road from Ranadi to Point Cruz.
“This traffic issue has affected us a lot,” he said.
He revealed that sometimes he would earn only $200-$300 a day.
“Only on weekends I can earn $800-$1000.”
Meanwhile, a taxi driver said that his boss usually get mad at him when he returns home with $200-$300.
Public transport providers urge the government through its responsible authority to take initiative to improve road in the city to stop the endless traffic congestion in Honiara.
It is understood that work on the Kukum Highway Upgrading Project is expected to start soon.
Japan is funding the multi-million dollar road project, which will see the upgrading of the three kilometer road from Honiara City Council to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources head office at Kukum.
Besides the reconstruction of the three kilometer road from the city council to Kukum, the council round-about will also be redesigned and upgraded from the existing two lanes to three.
Also, the two-lane Mataniko bridge will be turned into four, while the one-lane bridge, which was destroyed during the April 2014 flash floods, will be turned into a two-lane facility.
The Honiara Market bus stops will also be upgraded, with the construction of two-lane bus bays.
The project will also see the upgrading and improvement of the Vura junction to cater for the increasing heavy traffic in the area.
The Kukum highway upgrading project is aimed at alleviating the current road congestion Honiara is experiencing.
Also once completed, the reconstruction will reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic safety, especially for pedestrians in Honiara.
KITANO–WKK JV of Japan has won the bid in May this year to do the multi-million dollar Kukum Highway Road Improvement Project in Honiara.
By STEPHEN DIISANGO
