Transportation in Puerto Rico

Transportation in Puerto Rico includes a system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ports and harbors, and railway systems, serving a population of approximately 4 million inhabitants year-round. It is funded primarily with both local and federal government funds. The Island has one of the densest and most congested highway networks in the world and virtually no reliable inter-city public transportation.

Port Infrastructure

Airports

Puerto Rico has a total of 30 airports around the island, including one in each of the smaller inhabited islands (Vieques and Culebra). The main airport is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, and consists of two runways and three concourses. It is by far the busiest airport in Puerto Rico, with direct connections to most major cities in the eastern part of the United States, in Latin America, the Caribbean and a direct connection to Madrid, Spain.

Puerto Rico's next largest airports are usually former U.S. Air Force bases converted to public airports. Most of the airports in Puerto Rico are used exclusively for private planes and for limited passenger travel to local destinations within Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

* Puerto Rico has 21 airports with paved runways, of which:
** 3 airports with more than 10,000 ft (3,048 m) of runway.
** 3 airports with runways ranging between 5,000 ft and 8,000 ft (1,524 to 2,438 m).
** 15 airports with less than 5,000 ft (1,524 m) of runway.
* Puerto Rico also has 9 airports with unpaved runways, all of which have less than 5,000 ft (1,524 m) of runway.

Airlines Based in Puerto Rico

The following are airlines based in Puerto Rico, whose routes are mainly within Puerto Rico and its smaller islands and the Dominican Republic:

Latent

* Aerovias Nacionales de Puerto Rico (1936- )
* Puertorriqueña de Aviación (1941- )

Currently or recently operating/licensed

* Aeromed (air transportation for medical emergencies only)
* Air Caribbean
* Air Culebra
* Air Flamenco
* Dorado Wings
* Executive Air
* Fina Air (defunct)
* Isla Nena Air
* Oceanair
* Prinair
* Roblex Aviation
* San Juan Aviation
* Tol Air
* Vieques Air Link

eaports & Harbors

Sea-based transportation of any merchandise or persons shipped entirely or even partly by water between U.S. points—either directly or indirectly via one or any number of foreign points—U.S. Federal Law requires that said items or persons must travel in U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-citizen owned vessels that are U.S.-documented by the Coast Guard for such maritime “cabotage” carriage. This transportation/trade restriction is imposed on Puerto Rico per the Jones Act of 1920 (Merchant Marine Act of 1920). The Jones Act and various other United States laws that govern the domestic and domestic-foreign-domestic transportation of merchandise and passengers by water between two points in the United States, including Puerto Rico, have been extended to that island-territory since the initial years of United States’ claim over the sovereignty of the island.

Strictly construed, the Jones Act refers only to Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (46 U.S.C. 883; 19 CFR 4.80 and 4.80(b)), which has come to bear the name of its original sponsor, Sen. Wesley L. Jones. Another law that was enacted in 1886 requires essentially the same standards for the transport of passengers between U.S. points, directly or indirectly transported through foreign ports or foreign points (46 App. U.S.C. 289; 19 CFR 4.80(a)). However, since the mid-1980s, as part of a joint effort between the cruise-ship industry that serves Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican politicians such as then Resident Commissioner, U.S. non-voting Representative Baltasar Corrada del Río, obtained a limited-exception since no U.S. cruise ships that were Jones Act-eligible were participating in said market.

The application of these coastwise shipping laws and their imposition on Puerto Rico consist in a serious restriction of free trade and have been under scrutiny and controversy due to the apparent contradictory rhetoric involving the United States Government's sponsorship of free trade policies around the world, while its own national shipping policy (Cabotage Law) is essentially mercantilist and based on notions foreign to free-trade principles.

Major Ports

* San Juan Port - mainly divided in three: one in Old San Juan which includes cargo/freight and cruise ships, the Pan American Port Terminal in Isla Grande section mostly for cruise ships, and Puerto Nuevo, exclusively for freight/cargo ships. It is the main port of the island.
* Port of Ponce - the second largest port in Puerto Rico and can handle both freight/cargo and cruise ships. It is currently undergoing a significant expansion, with plans to convert it to an international shipping hub.
* Mayagüez Port - the third largest port in Puerto Rico. It is mainly used for freight/cargo ships but is also home to the Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico passenger ferry.

Minor Ports and Harbors

The following are minor ports and harbors used for small freight/cargo ships, fishing vessels, and private boats/yachts: Guánica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Fajardo, Culebra, and Vieques.

There are ferries between Fajardo, Culebra and Vieques; between San Juan and Cataño; and between Ponce and Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island).

There are several private marinas in Puerto Rico for boats and yachts, the largest being Puerto del Rey in Fajardo and Club Nautico de Ponce in Ponce.

Rail transportation

Current Systems

Tren Urbano - provides passenger train service between various points of the San Juan Metropolitan Area, between Bayamon, Guaynabo and several important sections of San Juan. Plans are on the way to expand the system in the future.

Port of Ponce Railroad - is a very small and short railroad system located in Ponce mainly to assist in loading and unloading cargo ships. It is very rarely seen in operations, although this may change in the future (see Major Ports below).

Tourism Railroads - Several locomotives are used for tourism and recreational services, such as “El Parque del Tren” in Bayamón (demolished to make way for the "Tren Urbano") [http://www.radiosabor.es/viajar/puertorico/4bayamon.html Baymon Tourism] , RadioSabor.es] and the historic narrow gage old sugarcane plantation “Tren del Sur” in Arroyo (currently abandoned but with plans for restoration). [Government of Puerto Rico [http://www.gobierno.pr/OECH/index.htm State Historic Conservation Plan 2006-2010] (Spanish)]

Defunct Systems

The Puerto Rico train system flourished during the late 19th and early 20th century due to a large sugar cane industry in the island.During the 1870s and 1890s, Puerto Rico did not have a national railroad system, but the city of Mayagüez did have a small passenger rail system for transporting its residents mainly along the Mendez Vigo Avenue. . The system was expanded to include all the western coastal towns, providing a link which would allow passengers to travel between the northern and southern parts of the island in less than a day for the first time in its history. Before its downfall, the Puerto Rico railroad system operated in all major cities, with tracks and stations along most of the coastal towns and direct lines to all major sugar refineries.

However, when Puerto Rico changed its mostly agricultural economy to an industrialized one, and the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments started investing heavily in interstate highways and freeways, the railroad business soon collapsed. Passenger travel ceased in 1953, while the commercial train system (mostly for the sugar cane industry) continued operating until 1957.

Road transportation

Puerto Rico has an extensive system of roads, highways, and expressways, totaling more than 8,950 miles (14,400 km, 1999 est.) of paved road. Some of the major roads, highways, and freeways are:

PR-1 - Original main road between San Juan and Ponce before the completion of PR-52. It is now mostly used by people living nearby and as a scenic route.PR-2 - Main freeway/highway/avenue between Ponce, Mayagüez, Aguadilla, and Arecibo. Original main road between Arecibo and San Juan before completion of PR-22 (currently undergoing a conversion to a freeway between Ponce and Mayagüez).PR-3 - (65th Infantry Avenue) Original main road/avenue between Salinas, Guayama, Humacao, Fajardo and San Juan (before completion of PR-52, PR-53, PR-66, and PR-26).PR-10 - Main highway between Ponce, Adjuntas, Utuado and Arecibo (currently under construction: sections from Ponce to Adjuntas and Utuado to Arecibo are complete and open; while section between Adjuntas and Utuado under construction, with detour through PR-123).PR-22 - Main freeway between San Juan and Hatillo (plans are under way to extend freeway to Aguadilla).PR-52 (Las Américas Expressway and/or Luis A. Ferré Expressway) - Main freeway between San Juan and Ponce.It's one of the busiest freeways in the World.PR-53 - Main freeway between Salinas, Guayama, Yabucoa, Humacao and Fajardo (currently under construction: section between Salinas and Guayama and Humacao to Fajardo are complete and open; while section between Guayama, Yabucoa and Humacao are currently under construction).PR-66 - Main freeway between Canóvanas, Carolina, and San Juan (plans are under way to extend freeway to Rio Grande).

Urban transportation

Transportation in Puerto Rico is heavily dependent on automobile transportation. Nevertheless, the government has increased investment in public transportation in an attempt to decrease vehicle dependency and road congestion. The island's metro area is serviced with three major public transportation systems:

* The 10.7 mile (17.2 km) metro system called “Tren Urbano” with a total of 16 stations. [cite web|title=Alternativa de Transporte Integrado homepage| url=http://www.ati.gobierno.pr/|language=Spanish|accessdate=2007-05-08] The project, which began operations in late 2004 cost a total of $2.25 billion and was more than $1 billion over budget and four years late. However, the “subsidized” Tren Urbano has received far less ridership than was originally projected and has failed to make a significant impact on reducing the island's metropolitan area traffic. [ [http://tollroadsnews.info/artman/publish/article_1161.shtml/ Tren Urbano PR another way low transit ridership forecast] , TOLLROADSNews, November 20, 2005, accessed April 13, 2007.]
* A daily ferry service known as the Cataño Ferry, ("La Lancha de Cataño" in Spanish) which operates a route across San Juan Bay between Old San Juan and the municipality of Cataño. [cite web| url=http://www.presupuesto.gobierno.pr/Tomo_II/transporteMaritimo.htm#PROG1314|title= Government's page on Lancha de Cataño's economical impact| language=Spanish| accessdate=2007-05-08]
* Metropolitan Bus Authority ("Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses" or AMA in Spanish) provides daily bus transportation to residents of San Juan, Guaynabo, Bayamón, Trujillo Alto, Cataño, and Carolina through [http://www.dtop.gov.pr/ama/rutas.htm 30 different routes] . Its fleet consists of 277 regular buses and 35 buses for handicapped persons, and its ridership is estimated at 112,000 on work days. [ [http://www.dtop.gobierno.pr/AMA/Amades_e.htm AMA: Descripción] es icon]

Most cities and towns also have a Jitney-type taxi system locally called "Carros Públicos". Each town has a central taxi terminal usually within walking distance of the town's central plaza where taxis are stationed, and they provide transportation through local and islandwide routes.

ee also

* "Aerovias Nacionales de Puerto Rico"
* Interstate Highways in Puerto Rico
* Lighthouses in Puerto Rico
* List of defunct United States railroads

References

External links

* [http://www.dtop.gov.pr/ Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works] es icon
* [http://iprac.aspira.org/iprac_transportation.htm "Puerto Rico: Society and Culture Before the US Invasion of 1898: Transportation"] Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) es icon
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~prsanjua/tren.htm "The Train: Memories and Nostalgia"] , Searching for Our Roots es icon