If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of commuters who take Metro Rail Transit to work, you would think it’s good news if government takes over its operations.
The proposal of Rep. Ariel Casilao can only be welcome news to commuters desperate to try anything to ease their daily grief in taking the train. It’s supposed to be a public mass transport system but the only thing it has done is to stir mass hysteria. The most recent case was that of a wagon decoupling from the rest of the train while running. Then again while running, a train door failed to close because a passenger pried it open with his bare hands to catch a ride.
The National Bureau of Investigation which was asked to come in to determine if there was sabotage in the car that decoupled from the rest of the train found no evidence of tampering.
Why am I not too optimistic about government taking over the MRT? Well, in the first place, trouble started when government- designated officials replaced the Japanese firm Sumitomo as maintenance provider. Former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and just as incompetent MRT general manager Al Vitangcol contracted a Pangasinan company without a track record as maintenance handler.
Both Abaya and Vitangcol are facing graft charges before the Ombudsman for the contract disadvantageous to the government. Now the new group of MRT management wants to return Sumitomo as maintenance contractor.
I would personally favor an earlier report that a private company headed by businessman Ramon Ang is interested in buying the MRT—lock, stock and barrel. This may augur an increase in the train fare but I suppose people would be willing to pay the price as long as they can avail of an efficient mass transport system. A fare increase will have to be expected considering the capital expenditures a private company will have to pour in to overhaul a decrepit and ailing rail transport system: the purchase of new equipment, spare parts and the hiring of technical people to oversee that the system works well.
The Department of Transportation headed by Secretary Arthur Tugade will have to be phased out from the operations of a privately-run MRT.What Tugade and the DOTR can do is coordinate the flow of traffic on the ground. This is going to be an awesome task in light of the two bridges across the Pasig River being planned and funded with funds from China. This early, the DOTr and the Department of Public Works and Highways should be planning the alternate routes to be taken from the bridge construction sites. Considering the time frame for the bridges to be finished, road traffic can only worsen as we have seen in the still unfinished skyway from Naia’s Terminal 3 leading all the way to the nearby towns of Bulacan. The pillars supporting the skyway are there but stopped short near the Quirino Highway-Pedro Gil junction.
But let’s not forget the Light Rail Transit which runs from Baclaran along Taft Avenue to the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City. The LRT, with an equal number of commuters as the MRT, needs as much fund infusion and a review of its operations.
The Belgian -built LRT which started operating years ahead of the MRT 3 had fewer problems under the management of former manager Mel Robles. Its deterioration is traced to years of operation and commuter use.
There are presently eight bridges spanning the Pasig River. These are Del Pan, Jones, MacArthur, Quezon, Ayala, Nagtahan and Makati-J.P Rizal and Guadalupe bridges.Vehicle traffic is heaviest on Guadalupe which absorbs the flow from Quezon City along Edsa to Makati and points south.
Perhaps one of the new bridges should be built on the Mandaluyong/Pasig area that can connect direct to Bonifacio Global City . This would lighten up traffic along the Edsa-Guadalupe bridge specially during morning and evening peak hours. From Shaw Boulevard, motorists bound for the Makati Central Business District use the Makati/J.P. Rizal bridge as an alternate route . But this two-lane bridge isn’t too much help because it is narrow and gets clogged at the entrance and exit .
It would be a credit to the Duterte administration if two new bridges can be completed by the end of the President’s term in 2022.