"There is no immediate relief in sight."
The short but heavy downpour a couple of days ago once again demonstrated the fragility of traffic in the metropolitan area. The rain was able to wreak havoc along EDSA and other major thoroughfares making a lot more difficult for people to get home.
As everyone knows, traffic congestion is a major contributing factor in the worsening quality of life in the metro area. There is no immediate relief in sight. The only one in the horizon by way of a solution is the Skyway project scheduled for completion in about 18 months.
Several months ago, the Department of Transportation came up with a plan to modernize the jeepney to provide better comfort to the riding public. This was generally greeted favorably but not by the traditional jeepney drivers and operators who believe that the plan will make things more complicated and will drive them out of business due to the cost of the new jeepneys. The government has put its foot down on this plan and will continue with the project. We, however, do not read much about it anymore in the media and one wonders whether DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, which are the implementing agencies, will push the project aggressively. The plus side of this project is that the modern jeepney will provide better comfort to the riding public. Currently, the traditional jeepneys are not comfortable, often dirty and are uninsured. This is detrimental to the riding public in case of accidents.
There are certainly downsides. For one, the LTFRB has not provided the public with the regulations that will be followed in the operation of the new jeepneys except to say that cooperatives will be allowed to operate the new jeepney. The new jeepney is a double-edge sword. Although it will provide more comfortable rides, if operated like the current traditional jeepneys, it will also worsen the traffic situation because now, the new jeepney are designed to be bigger than the current jeepneys and will therefore occupy more road space. But if the new operators of these modern jeepneys are managed and encouraged to change the current way of jeepney operation, then the project will be beneficial to all. The trick is in the way these jeepneys will be operated.
The two biggest problems in the metro area are traffic and public transportation. Congestion and traffic gridlock is a daily fact of life. Public transportation, on the other hand, is inadequate and inefficient. Solve the two or at least lessen both problems and the quality of life in the metro area will improve immensely. What the DOTr should be doing is take a hard look at the way public transport is regulated and operated and come up with necessary reforms.
Let us take one example. EDSA, in spite of being technically a freeway because there are no traffic lights and is supposed to connect NLEX and SLEX, is always congested. It is only toward midnight that we see congestion easing. Even the traditional window between 12 noon and 1 in the afternoon when traffic becomes lighter is also gone. The LTFRB a year ago came out with a point to point bus scheme. Instead, however, of giving the permit to existing bus operators, the LTFRB gave it to new operator thereby adding a lot more buses to the already congested road. As I have written so many times before, when there is a light rail like the MRT, along a thoroughfare, there should be fewer or no buses and jeepneys along the same route. Certainly, there should be no tricycles.
The reduction of buses along EDSA and the prohibition of jeepneys will drastically reduce congestion along EDSA and can be done. But I believe that the DOTr and LTFRB are not confident of their ability to plan and execute such a plan and are therefore taking the safer option of not tinkering with the current system.
But not acting and taking bold steps will only worsen the traffic. It could also be that both agencies are simply banking on the completion of the Skyway in 18 months rather than do anything. It is a tough position to be in.
The situation now is very much like 20 years ago when we were managing the traffic in the metro area. Not much has changed. The MMDA law that is badly in need of amendments has not been touched at all. Many of the bureaucratic overlaps that we experienced then are still there. There are still 17 different traffic enforcement uniforms in the metro area, nineteen if the MMDA and CHPG traffic enforcers are included. If the weak MMDA cannot be amended, someone has to be appointed to manage and coordinate all the different agencies involved in traffic management. Government agencies whether local or national must be willing to give up part of their prerogatives for traffic to improve.
Much of the problems being experienced in managing traffic in the National Capital Region is incompetence and the unwillingness of some officials in some government agencies to give up certain prerogatives for the good of all. Turf unfortunately is guarded zealously by some officials preventing meaningful reform. It was like that then and it is still like that now. It is sad but in government, it is something that one must contend with.
If all these things are not possible, the person who will be appointed to take charge of traffic must be thoroughly competent. This means that the person must be well trained and young because the work is non-stop and that person has to have enough authority to do the job.