Transportation - Haiti Observer Blog

Haiti Air Ambulance Service Inc. (HAASI) made an announcement to the media it has partnered with Air Methods Corporation (AMC), a supplier of air transport medical services, to offer transportation services from rural hospitals in Haiti's hinterlands to metro acute-care facilities. This is good news for Haiti's Emergency Medical Services sector, which can anticipate critical events will receive air transport services at the scene.

AMC will supply two state-of-the-art Bell 407 helicopters, staffed with three pilots and two mechanics. They will augment HAASI's emergency medical technicians, trained in air transport procedures.

HAASI, a New York non-profit, has been on a humanitarian mission to deliver beneficial healthcare services to Haiti's poorer residents. The problem AMC CEO, Aaron Todd, says that afflicts Haiti is "Patients with survivable injuries . . . too often die because of lack of trauma care in remote parts of the country . . ." He adds deteriorated roads form the nexus of the problem.

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The Martelly government, with assistance from financial stakeholders, inaugurated the Association of Tourist Taxi Drivers Support Program (ATTDSP) in December. The idea of ATTDSP is to improve taxi service at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport (TLIA). More efficient service is particularly important to the transport of foreign visitors from TLIA to luxury hotels nearby.

The funding of $2 million provided by Haiti's Central Bank (CB), National Bank of Credit (NBC), and Banque Populaire Haitienne (BPH) will allow purchase of 100 taxi vehicles, to be repaid by drivers belonging to the Drivers Guide Association of Haiti (DGAH) and the Independent Drivers for Development Association (IDDA).

At the launch ceremony, President Martelly was joined by CB Governor, Charles Castel, representatives of tourist and tourist taxi drivers associations, and Minister of Tourism, Stephanie Villedrouin. Martelly expressed his gratitude to CB, NBC, and BPH for their participation in the program to increase tourism on the island, essential to growing Haiti's economy. Castel praised Martelly for adopting policies that will strengthen the tourism sector, and recommitted CB to persevere in opening up availability of credit for Haitian tourism workers.

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That the future is upon us is evident amidst Amazon's, the American giant that gave the world the Kindle and all but started online buying, declaration that they are working on technology that will help them deliver packages by way of drones. They say the advent, while sci-fi sounding now, will, in the future, be as common as today's common mode of delivery--delivery trucks. While Amazon's hopes are high, the unlikeliness of the venture is being discussed by others who say the announcement is just for 15 minutes of press.

Despite the naysayers, a 2012 test facilitated by a California startup company, Matternet, showed the feasibility of the venture. They used a drone, outfitted with eight propellers, to deliver a 2 kilogram package over 10 kilometers. The test was to show if this method of delivery could be used to supply packages to Haitian refugee camps. The finding was that the cost was only $0.20 to $0.70, a savings of at least five times what it would cost to deliver the goods traditionally.

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Google had a chance to show off its self-driving car when Haitian Prime Minister Lamothe paid a visit to the Mountain View tech company in November. Google is one of three companies to have developed the technology for self-automated (SA) vehicles, along with Tesla and Nissan. Google, first one out the starting gate, has a fleet of self-automated models that are still in the testing phase. The autos have registered hundreds of thousands of test miles with no technical malfunctions.

In the planning stages of designing a SA auto, Tesla will build one to perform 90% of all driving duties. They are expected to offer the first model in three years. Nissan's goal is to develop their SA technology to offer consumers affordable SA autos by 2020.

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After the sudden suspension of flights from Haiti Aviation, it appears that the CEO of the company, Charles Voigt, is trying to convince the public that Haiti Aviation is not dead or at least not yet. According to Mr. Voigt, people who have purchased an airline ticket with them recently should contact their credit card companies for a complete refund. In addition, the cost of the ticket has been refunded to several hundreds of people already.

The problem with Haiti Aviation has to do with money supposedly owed to their Aircraft leasing company, Falcon Aircraft Express (FAE). The leasing company stated that Haiti Aviation owes them money; in the meantime Charles Voigt said that they do not owe them money and that Haiti Aviation is working tirelessly to resume flights. He hopes to announce a date when Haiti Aviation will resume its flights to Haiti very soon.

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This story is sad; however it can be used to remind our family member, friends and other Haitians to be careful out there. Liked many other Haitians who wake-up early, run out to catch the bus so they can get to work on time, the 41 year old Marise Clerveau was struck and killed by a car as she was running to catch a bus to get to work on time yesterday. She was on her way to work as a home attendant in a home to care for elderly patients.

Marise Clerveau was running to catch a bus because she did not want to be late for work

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With data gathered from the Central Intelligence Agency, the World Economic Forum and the World Bank, an online Latin American business publication, Latinvex, has published the latest, and perhaps most comprehensive, ranking for the Latin American Transport Infrastructure.

19 countries in the hemisphere, including the two which share the island of Hispaniola, have been evaluated for their efficiency in 17 fields, to assess the ease of movement and ease of conducting business in all areas of transportation.

These 17 factors contribute to the overall quality of the transportation system in each country and include; air, railway and traditional road transportation, required documents for the importation and exportation of containers, cost and time, the simplicity with which affordable shipments can be arranged, an effective experience with border clearance and customs, port quality, high-caliber practices for tracing and tracking consignments, excellent logistics services, reliable schedules for delivery to consignees and a high percentage of paved roads, airport and runways alike.

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What would you say if I tell you there is a plan to make "Route Nationale #1" safer, more efficient and overall better. While we are fighting among ourselves, the multi-year plan to make Haiti an emerging country is moving ahead.

In the objective to improve economic development in Haiti, an investment of $50 million is being made by the Inter-American Development Bank to improve road transportation between Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien which are the biggest cities in Haiti.

By the time this project is over, the road from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitian will be equipped with guardrails, speed bumps and road signs. The road will also have widening shoulders.

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I don't think this information surprises too many and I can guarantee you that our responsible Haitian government will not lose sleep over such revelation.

The Haitian population does not ask much from their government.

Come to think of it, the Haitian population does not expect anything from their government that they are paying.

In the latest ranking conducted by Latinvex, an online publication specializing in business in Latin America and the Caribbean, Haiti found itself in the last position in the areas of port facilities, airports, roads and infrastructure.

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This is what I saw in the newspaper this morning. A group of movers and shakers in the helicopter EMS industry has introduced a new air medical service for Haiti. The Haiti Air Ambulance (HAA)

Haiti Air Ambulance, a not-for-profit foundation will launch Haiti's first permanent helicopter EMS program.

They expect to provide life-saving emergency services to all Haitians regardless of income.

According to the information, this new service is supposed to alleviate Haiti's dire emergency medical needs.

Haiti Air Ambulance, a not-for-profit foundation will launch Haiti's first permanent helicopter EMS program.

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