Modernization
Think about it: there’s an area within walking distance of your home where you can catch an affordable public transport ride to key destinations.
The ride can be a commuter train, overhead railway service, subway, bus or a smaller vehicle such as a mini bus or a “standardized” or upgraded jeepney.
Whatever the type of vehicle, the most important consideration after accessibility of the ride is that it follows a set schedule along its assigned route.
All the other considerations can then follow: cleanliness and comfort of the ride, safety from pickpockets and other criminal elements.
Most of us are a long way from this scenario. Prepandemic, commuters were willing to pack like sardines into trains, overlooking the absence of the second batch of considerations, as long as the first two requirements were met. Commuters also pack into buses, because these usually have more extensive routes than jeepneys and fare is generally cheaper for a direct ride.
Keeping strict departure and arrival schedules at designated stops is easier when the number of public transport units along a particular route can be regulated, based on estimates of potential passengers at particular hours. Ask the mathematicians – such estimates are possible with reasonable accuracy.
During the morning and rush hours, more units are deployed. The efficiency can save transport operators fuel and other maintenance costs.
Efficient deployment is possible if public transport drivers are assured of getting the same compensation from their employers, regardless of the number of passengers picked up.
Instead, the norm has always been the quota or boundary system, under which bus and jeepney drivers’ daily pay is based on the number of passengers. When the government recently ordered the system removed, operators simply offered their drivers a bonus for more passengers picked up.
And so the streets are a war zone especially in Metro Manila, with all drivers fighting for passengers, ignoring designated stops, lingering at spots with high foot traffic, and picking up or allowing passengers to disembark wherever they wish.
Along EDSA and other busy thoroughfares, the problem was compounded by the indiscriminate issuance of transport franchises even to owners of only a single unit, with no one thinking that overcapacity might aggravate traffic jams.
When the monsoon rains and torrential floods arrive – and they do, every year without fail – we get Carmageddon.
* * * For decades now, people have been calling for public transport modernization in Metro Manila and other key urban centers in the country. Upgrading is a more accurate term, since the new transport facilities being put in place are still way behind the latest, truly “modern” ones that people enjoy in the advanced economies.
But the path to upgrading won’t please everybody. Painful adjustments and compromises can be expected. And the poor players in the sector undoubtedly will be hit.
Under the proposed public utility vehicle modernization program, only owners of a minimum of 20 PUV transport units will be issued a franchise. Owners of only one or two units are being urged by the government to set up cooperatives to secure a franchise, to pool resources for switching to the standardized PUVs, for improving credit access, and for streamlining of vehicle deployment.
Motorists have pointed out that the inadequacy and inefficiency of public transportation compounded by air pollution leave them with no choice but to use private cars.
During my occasional commutes, I took a combination of buses and jeepneys on my way to work. Always, my travel time was more than doubled – and this was during non-rush hour in good weather.
* * * There is one place in the country where the traditional jeepney is undeniably useful.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong says that in tests of all types of jeepneys old and new, only the traditional jeepney has been found capable of negotiating the steep and often winding roads and sharp curves in the country’s summer capital.
So the King of the Road is back in Baguio. Magalong told “The Chiefs” on Tuesday night on One News / TV 5 that the city has few mass transport alternatives.
With physical distancing enforced through seat dividers and random inspections, the jeepneys can’t operate at full capacity. Also, Baguio remains under quarantine so passenger volume is down.
Still, limited operation should be better than no operation. In Metro Manila, jeepney drivers and small-scale operators are going hungry and have been driven to begging or living with their families in their vehicles.
The government appears unmoved, pointing out that there is a special pandemic aid for displaced jeepney drivers.
Like it or not, the government is seeing an opportunity in this ruinous pandemic – to forge ahead with the phase-out of the traditional jeepney at least from major routes, and to streamline bus operations.
The “carousel” bus scheme launched along EDSA and deployment of more point-to-point buses are part of the program.
* * * Yesterday, Malacañang said there is still no certainty on when the traditional jeepneys might be allowed to return in Metro Manila. Only “roadworthy” units might be allowed, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, clarifying a statement attributed to Martin Delgra of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
“Roadworthy” could mean not a single unit, since it could refer to compliance with at least the engine specs for the standardized jeepney. The basic requirement for the “modern” PUV with combustion engine is compliance with EURO IV vehicle emission standards.
For commuters, the other features of the modern PUV are a bonus: comfortable seats, WiFi and gadget charging access, PWD-friendly (so boarding is from the side of the vehicle, not the rear), a middle aisle that is wide and high enough to allow a passenger to stand at full height.
Most new jeepneys are equipped with machines for automatic computation and cashless collection of fares, TV sets, and CCTV to detect pickpockets, molesters and other lowlifes. Some units are air-conditioned, but those that aren’t are well ventilated with large windows.
New jeepneys that run on alternative forms of energy such as electric and solar are fun to ride – smooth, no crowding, no pollution, and the engine is impressively quiet.
We badly need a more efficient mass transportation system. Still, the government must decisively address the loss of livelihoods for tens of thousands of drivers and operators.