The Modernization of our Transport Systems (Part 1) – What is modernization?

Watching the Senate discussions on the pros and cons of extending the deadline for the jeepney route consolidation gave me more confusion than clarification. The para-debate participants --the distinguished senators, the government bodies (DOTr/LTFRB), jeepney operators, drivers, and operator-drivers, the “cooperatives”, and others, took turns arguing their points. They couldn’t seem to agree on anything.

The government people seem resolute on pursuing what the law already officially said. Looking closer, though, on the reasons presented, it seems the present crop of officials may not have similar understanding with what previous administrations had in mind. I am not even too sure if the original proponents of this “modernization” thingy were definitely sure of what they wanted and endorsed. After two changes in top-level administrations, and more than that, in departmental and sub-agency levels, are we sure the present crop of actors know what the original ones have in their minds, not to mention what should have even been started?

Personally, I have this suspicion that the issue is on the word itself --modernization. What does that even mean? We have to go back to its precursor before it was coined. We all know that traffic congestion has been a main issue in our country for the last two decades, in Metro Manila particularly, but also in Metro Cebu and other urban centers in the country. That is the “publicly-perceived” problem though those who are into urban issues and transportation science know that the problem is mobility and particularly, sub-optimal public transportation. So the foremost question to ask should have been, “how do we improve our public transportation system to improve mobility?”

Yet, at that time, or prior to that, the country was also faced with the other global issue of greenhouse gases reduction. We were a signatory of the Paris Agreement, the legally-binding international treaty on climate change, as we have to craft our national climate action plan and set our nationally-determined contributions (NDCs). Power and transportation are our highest emissions which means our NDCs must come from these sectors. Thus the “problem” took a twist --from mobility to “greening.”

While transportation and mobility issues should have been the basis for anything to modernize, the need for ways to attain our NDCs came into the picture, and the Jeepney (or PUV) Modernization Program came into the picture. It also helped that indeed, our jeepneys are really obsolete in terms of design and safety issues (back entry instead of roadside entry/passengers facing each other instead of facing forward).

Thus, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) was born. What’s now debated are jeepney design, engine and fuel and their emissions, route rationalization, and the incorporation of operators and drivers into cooperatives. What took a backseat is mobility. Do we ensure that our transportation systems --vehicle denomination/size mix, routes, and schedules-- have sufficient capacity to ensure the fastest and most efficient way to bring our people from our homes to places of work in the morning and back in the evening? Let’s brace ourselves for more acute mobility woes in the future.