“In traffic studies, collect data first before anything else. Observation alone will not be enough to do the trick”
Over the last two weeks, social media was abuzz about a projected P250 traffic congestion fee that motorists may have to pay to enter Baguio City’s central business district.
We have actually been hearing about this for some time from the city and MPT Mobility, a Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation subsidiary contracted by the city in a P2.5 billion deal to solve the city’s traffic problems.
Also, AI or artificial intelligence, has been liberally thrown around to manage what is being called the Baguio City Smart Urban Mobility Project.
But we have to remember that AI does not simply sprout from out of nowhere to manage the city’s SUMP.
Data must be gathered and inputted into a computer program that will be developed to help manage the project.
Ordinarily, traffic engineers would first rely on conventional tools of traffic management to solve traffic problems before jumping into extreme measures like imposing congestion fees.
That is not to say we should not take advantage of what new technologies can offer but it would be better to be gradual in the long run.
In the case of Baguio City, there are still conventional measures that can be taken that can improve traffic flow.
This is why many people are asking whether charging congestion fee is necessary.
They cannot seem to understand the need to charge motorists entering the CBD considering the current traffic flow is still tolerable to them.
That there is some traffic congestion in some roads in the city during certain hours of the day and during long weekends is accepted.
But the city never gave any acceptable justification for having to go “nuclear” in its effort to solve the city’s traffic problems with the residents shouldering the burden.
Available government data show there are 302 kilometers of public roads in the city with a vehicle registration of 58,000 which translates to vehicle density of about 192 vehicles per kilometer of road compared to the NCR of 565 vehicles.
This figure if one understands traffic will suggest that traffic in the city can still be managed more efficiently.
That is if the city traffic managers know and understand traffic.
But the density numbers do not tell the whole story.
This is because vehicles from La Trinidad use Baguio Roads and vice versa, not to mention incoming vehicles from out of towners and those vehicles from the city travelling out.
These affect the dynamics of the city’s traffic.
Unfortunately, we have not seen any publication of traffic surveys or any hard traffic data collected by the city and MPT Mobility.
Yet, both seem to know exactly what to do which is putting the cart ahead of the horse.
In traffic studies, collect data first before anything else. Observation alone will not be enough to do the trick.
The most common question asked is whether a motorist who passes Session Road three times a day will pay P750?
There is also talk about exemptions for senior drivers but how will this be done?
A traffic CCTV for instance cannot distinguish between a senior citizen driver and one who is not because all that the CCTV will catch are plate numbers.
With all the doubts and questions, we go back to the basic question whether the city has done everything available to solve its traffic problems before resorting to charging motorists P250 to enter the CBD.
As a city resident who drives around the city roads every day, the answer is no.
Without being disrespectful to the people managing the city traffic, traffic tools are still available out there like road engineering projects if the city’s traffic managers are more knowledgeable and imaginative.
With what MPT mobility is claiming that it can do, one wonders why MPTC cannot make its toll roads truly modern so that when there are congestions AI can take over instead of the old fashioned traffic enforcers.
If MPTC cannot do it on its own road, how can they do it in Baguio?
No wonder many are deeply suspicious about this deal. The city should study this project more.