Traffic jam

It is so stressful and frustrating to be caught in a traffic jam. It normally takes around 30 minutes to drive from Nausori to Suva. It took me 90 minutes yesterday. This is not an exaggeration. On Friday September 30, I was on the Rewa Bridge at 6.30am and reached Suva at 8am. The route that I took was 20 kilometres and the time was 90 minutes. Thus, the average speed was approximately 13.5 kilometres per hour. What was the reason? The traffic jam starting just after the Rewa Bridge and all the way to Suva.

There was probably a bit of jam-free here and there, but not more than 100 metres at any one time.

I had a very tensed and stressful drive in the morning. Such an experience in the morning really affects the production level of any worker.

Collectively, this can affect the economic growth of the nation. My request to the authorities is to find solutions to this escalating problem. I champion clean environment, but feel guilty because of the extra volume of smoke emitted from my car because of the extra driving hours caused by the traffic jam. The influx of cars on the road will continue because financial institutions are offering affordable packages. For example, at just 10 per cent deposit one can become the owner of a vehicle. The question is how are the authorities going to counter this sudden increase of vehicles?

Please take this as a plea from a disappointed and frustrated driver.