Urban realities: Mobile bodies

The  Commuter Experience

Some mornings it’s a bit overwhelming… It’s fascinating how we move in formation; adopt the rhythm of the urban as soon as our feet touch those city streets. Some assume position instinctively whereas others...not so much.With my sleep-deprived, sometimes over-caffeinated brain, the objective is to keep balance whilst walking against the throngs of commuters that “the City’s Gate” unleashes into the capital. They’ve probably just disembarked from a “Red Band” and must disperse to their various destinations across the city. My commute to the university during the peak morning hours is east-bound and so I must trudge against the mainly westward flow of persons coming into Port-of-Spain for business, work, school...

There is one general rule when navigating against the herds that converge at the City’s Gate: Keep momentum! To stop would mean being toppled over and probably (to add insult to injury), become the recipient of some hard glares or choice cuss words. For someone like me who sometimes has two-left feet syndrome, moving against the general flow of the crowd, feet-eye co-ordination is crucial to prevent collision.

Commuters at the zebra crossing at the City Gate entrance, Port -of-Spain, Trinidad

Mobility and Urbanity….

Where have we come from? Many of the persons that traverse the urbane don’t live in the city themselves. We’ve originated from the surrounding areas- the ‘burbs, the upscale communities, the country. According to the Google Maps description: City Gate is the main terminal for the buses and maxi-taxis in Port -of-Spain, Trinidad. It is located in the Former Trinidad Government Railway Terminal on South Quay.

I began to question how much City Gate meant to a society such as Trinidad’s and on reflection, it was apparent that it is an essential part of urban life as we know it because it is  a transport hub that services almost the entire of Trinidad. This is evidenced by the uproar and dishevel that is caused when it doesn’t function smoothly which is usually due to flooding or strikes by the PTSC (Public Transport Service Corporation). Despite my grumblings, I would like to congratulate past governments for having the insight to recognise the necessity of a transport centre like City Gate.

Urban Primacy
Like so many other Caribbean states, urban primacy seems to be a problem in the region.  This issue is mostly attributed to the historical patterns of development of the main colonial administrative cities surrounded by the supporting plantation lands in the rural. This old model persists today in Port-of-Spain in the sense that the city depends on the labour of its externalities to support itself. Many persons of the working class now use public transportation as a way of accessing the city whereas those who are more affluent can afford personal transportation.