The Urban Mobility Observatory (OMU) based at the Henri Christophe Campus in Limonade of the State University of Haiti (CHCL/UEH) has released its first report on mobility in the Cap-Haïtien metropolitan area.
The Urban Mobility Observatory (OMU), based at the Henri Christophe Campus in Limonade of the State University of Haiti (CHCL/UEH), has published its first assessment of mobility in the Cap-Haïtien metropolitan area. Carried out at the end of the first quarter of 2026, this study highlighted the daily challenges faced by users of the Vaudreuil – Cap-Haïtien and Limonade – Cap-Haïtien corridors, dealing with poor roads, chronic congestion, and reliance on informal public transport. With over 300,000 residents and covering an area of 53.5 km², Cap-Haïtien is the main economic, educational, and healthcare hub of the Nord department. However, the concentration of activities and services in the city center has led to significant travel from the surrounding areas, particularly Vaudreuil, Quartier-Morin, and Limonade, as revealed by the OMU study.These populations rely on informal public transport to get to downtown, while the road infrastructure connecting these areas is seriously deteriorating. To create this picture of mobility to Cap-Haïtien, 16 field agents were mobilized by the UCE/MTPTC between March 17 and 27, 2026. Observations focused on two corridors: Morne Rouge – Vaudreuil to downtown Cap-Haïtien and Limonade to downtown.
In total, 427 trips were documented and 510 downtown economic opportunities were geolocated. The study’s results showed that the average trip duration is 59.35 minutes, while the median duration is 57 minutes. The report published alongside the study highlighted that observed trips range from 30 to 160 minutes depending on traffic conditions and road conditions. The average cost of a trip is 112.18 gourdes, and 74% of trips were made during rush hours. The Vaudreuil – Cap-Haïtien corridor appears to be the most problematic, the study report indicated. A trip from Vaudreuil to Cap-Haïtien takes an average of 64.72 minutes, compared to 53.44 minutes for a trip from Limonade to the Cap. In the other direction, the average duration is 64.02 minutes between the Cap and Vaudreuil, versus 54.91 minutes between the Cap and Limonade,The study also established a direct link between the quality of infrastructure and travel time. Half of the trips observed were rated as “poor” in terms of road condition. Their average duration is 64.5 minutes, compared to 51.4 minutes when the road is considered in good condition. According to the IMU, a degraded road adds an average of 13 extra minutes per trip. For someone commuting back and forth every day, five days a week, this difference amounts to more than four hours lost each month and over 50 hours in a year.On top of the poor road conditions, there’s almost constant congestion. The study found that traffic was only considered smooth in 16% of cases. In 66% of observations, it was slow, and in 18% of cases, it was stuck. Trips made when traffic is blocked take an average of 68.1 minutes, which is 16.4 minutes longer than trips made in smooth conditions. The study also pointed out that the combination of bad roads and blocked traffic pushes the average duration to 79.8 minutes, compared to 46.6 minutes in what’s considered the optimal scenario. That’s a 33-minute difference per trip. The study also looked at how the transport network affects the routes involved.
Indeed, informal public transport remains at the heart of commuting. The study identified two main modes: tricycles and buses or minibuses. The 208 trips taken by tricycle had an average duration of 56.86 minutes, for an average cost of 141 gourdes. The 207 trips by bus or minibus lasted, on average, 62.07 minutes, costing 84 gourdes. So, tricycles can save about five minutes on average, but at an extra cost of 68%. This difference is more noticeable on the Vaudreuil – Cap-Haïtien corridor, where tricycles help avoid some of the traffic jams. The OMT, however, emphasized that this advantage is more related to congestion conditions on this route than to any general superiority of this mode of transport.The study wasn’t just about time spent in vehicles. It also looked at what people are trying to get to: the economic opportunities in downtown. The researchers identified and mapped 510 businesses between 3A/3L Street and 90 Boulevard. Of these, 319, or 63%, are various shops and services. Pharmacies, drugstores, and cosmetic-related activities make up 15%, while food-related businesses account for 7%. But getting to these places is still tricky, the study report said. Only 27% of the opportunities are within a five-minute walk of a public transit stop. On the other hand, 70% are more than five minutes away on foot, and 3% aren’t reachable by public transit at all.Beyond the state of the roads and congestion, the OUM highlighted another vulnerability: the instability of travel times from day to day. During the seven days of data collection, the average daily duration varied between 51 and 69 minutes, an 18-minute range. Statistical modeling carried out by the Observatory indicated that the “day of the week” is the most discriminating variable in explaining travel times among those included in the model. The researchers looked into the possible influence of weather conditions, market activity, special events, and security situations.
The model used, however, explained 33% of the observed variance, with the remaining 67% corresponding to factors that haven’t yet been captured by the data. At the end of this review, the OUM highlighted that the goal of accessing economic opportunities within 60 minutes is still out of reach. The Vaudreuil – Cap-Haïtien corridor exceeds this threshold on average, even under conditions that aren’t considered degraded. The OUM therefore identified rehabilitating this route as a priority and also recommended putting more focus on pedestrians in interventions, better protecting the most vulnerable users, and strengthening the resilience of the transport system to climate, social, and security risks.Launched last March, the OMU was presented as a tool designed to produce reliable data to better understand mobility in the North. Thanks to this study, the Observatory now has an initial empirical database. This first overview should serve as a reference for measuring, in the future, the effects of interventions on infrastructure and the evolution of accessibility in the Cap-Haïtien metropolitan area.
