Saved by SLEX/AAP

Today the MMDA will implement the ban on provincial buses on EDSA and they will require said buses to terminate their trips at Valenzuela and presumably Alabang or Muntinlupa. Our reader Brad Peadon is asking why stop buses from entering Metro Manila, force them to unload in Valenzuela, but allow the existence and presumably the continued operations of bus terminals along EDSA? Does this mean, provincial buses can load inside Metro Manila but unload outside the Metro or does the MMDA now have a Star Trek Teleporter to teleport empty provincial buses from Valenzuela straight into their terminals? Nice one Brad!

Of more serious concern for me is the question of fare adjustment. If provincial buses no longer enter Metro Manila, will they be required to cut or reduce bus fares to cover the cost of passengers transferring to city buses? It is bad enough that the “solution” of the MMDA will greatly inconvenience and delay passengers, but is the MMDA or the LTFRB going to make calculated fare adjustments so that the solution does not become an added cost to our low income passengers?

Another reader calls attention to the growing number of politicians and government officials including those in the MMDA who travel with at least one security vehicle backing them up. What is the MMDA and the I-ACT doing to get the cooperation of Congress, Senate, Malacañang, AFP and PNP to ban unnecessary back-up vehicles? We cannot force middle class drivers and commuters to stay off EDSA just to reduce vehicle volume but do nothing about insecure, scared shitless or power tripping politicians and government officials.

* * * We either live in denial mode or simply overlook the possibility that one day our vehicle will have a breakdown of some sort. Unfortunately the ghost month has been haunting me with a “series of unfortunate events” wherein I have experienced brake loss on several vehicles. The combination of rain, flooded streets and vehicles not being driven after that is one recipe for brake problems. Then there is the natural parts fatigue especially with today’s power brakes and boosters.

The first week of August the Hydro-vac or brake booster on an SUV essentially faded into oblivion and so I had to crawl and use my gear shifter or transmission as an emergency brake. Fortunately I was driving very slowly since the vehicle was being debugged after a long time on storage. Last week I sent out a pick-up to deliver materials from Pasig to Lipa, Batangas and the vehicle only made it to a gas station on the SLEX past Alabang after the brakes decided to fade away into the Friday evening traffic.

The last thing I wanted was to have a vehicle parked on the emergency lane of SLEX or staying overnight at some gas station. So I went on autopilot to find a car carrier or tow truck to rescue my pick-up and crew. Anyone attempting this will quickly discover that private companies charge anything from P6,000 to P8,000 to tow a vehicle from SLEX back to Manila or onwards to Lipa via the STAR Toll. However, because of a memorandum of agreement between SLEX and the Automobile Association of the Philippines, only the AAP is authorized to tow or pull out stranded vehicles on SLEX and I think also STAR Toll, which are both operated by San Miguel Corporation. Any outside tow truck who attempt to poach inside the territory will quickly be fined at the exit tollgates. Be wary of commercial establishment security guards offering a P6,000 tow because it’s either unauthorized or a sideline scam.

When I came to realize all this, I had to press the panic button and disturbed a young lady’s dinner date in order to get some assistance from the operations group of SLEX. In hindsight, I came to realize that it was all unnecessary because SLEX and STAR Toll automatically and swiftly provides assistance as well as physical protection to vehicles and passengers stranded inside their area. That is why you will always see SLEX/MATES pick-up parked behind stalled vehicles as a defensive positioning. They take the risk in order to protect their customers. The SLEX operations head immediately sent reassurance that all assistance would be extended to my crew.

Just as the AAP car carrier arrived at the scene, my dear wife Karen nonchalantly advised me that she had actually registered our pick-up with the motorist’s assistance program of AAP so therefore they will surely load up the vehicle and deliver it to wherever it can be serviced or dropped off. It was either my age or the embarrassing thought of friends spotting my “Classic” pick-up stalled on the SLEX that made me forgetful. But YES, we do register ourselves under the AAP every year and for that we are provided emergency towing service for two cars each or a combined four vehicles. Each member pays an annual one-time fee of P2,000, which is not bad compared to paying P6,000 to P8,000 to outside operators every time. The coverage also applies all over Metro Manila and wherever the AAP has an operational contract of service.

Needless to say, thanks to the SLEX operations center and the AAP team on the ground my team and the pick-up made it safely to Lipa. The following day I found out that my brake cylinders had rusted and stuck up after driving through floodwaters and being parked for several weeks unused. So remember: Get your brakes opened and checked and make sure you get your AAP membership because it’s worth it and you’ll be grateful that you did.

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