“Limiting private car ownership as advocates want is therefore unrealistic because there are plenty of trips that people make every day not serviced by public transport such as leisure”
Is there really a need for a traffic czar to do something about the worsening Metro Manila traffic? Aside from this paper, another broadsheet daily broached the same suggestion a couple of weeks ago. The word czar denotes immense power and authority.
This is why it is always used when we want a particularly difficult problem to be solved by someone with broad powers so that, presumably, that person can cut thru government red tape and get things done.
We have had a rice czar, a drug czar.
I was once upon a time referred to as a traffic czar when given the job to manage traffic in the Metro area by then President F.V. Ramos.
I hated the title because it didn’t really carry much authority.
My own take on this is that there is no need. Why? Because even if a traffic czar is appointed with all the powers to move mountains if he or she does not understand what traffic is all about, it is not going to improve travel time.
I can understand the frustration of the Management Association of the Philippines because traffic congestion causes many problems.
Health, environment and lost productivity are just a few of those problems.
What MAP should do is help look for someone who understands what traffic is all about and then recommend his appointment to the appointing authority.
MAP must bear in mind, however, that traffic management is an engineering discipline.
For the problem at hand, it is safer to bet on someone who understands traffic.
Unfortunately, our appointing authorities always seem to prefer choosing people from other disciplines except the ones who understand the complicated interactions between transportation and land use.
That folks is actually the simple reason why instead of the problem improving, it is worsening.
We have heard many proposals on how to improve traffic.
But the first requirement for any traffic manager is to understand what the problem is before trying to solve it.
That sounds simple.
But on the ground, it’s a complicated problem to untangle.
And we see that in the MMDA people who I am sure are trying their level best.
Unfortunately, they do not appear to completely fathom the depth of the problem and are therefore overwhelmed by it.
In all the recommended traffic solutions suggested by MAP and others in the last couple of weeks, no mention was made about other traffic related issues such as driver discipline which constitutes a big chunk of the problem.
Look at all those infuriating habitual violators of the bus carousel regulations.
No mention was made either of what they are after so that we can judge if it is doable.
Is a five-minute drive from Quezon City to Makati the ambition?
Most of the suggestions were on infrastructure, efficient public transport system, less reliance on private cars and urban dispersal many of which are already happening but not as fast as we would want them to be.
There are currently infrastructure projects in progress.
Unfortunately, these projects have long gestation periods.
On urban dispersal, however, we are actually seeing good progress led by private developers.
Almost all of the many housing developments are now located outside of the metro area, reason why private vehicle sales are rapidly increasing.
With this expansion, business and commercials centers will follow, thereby decreasing trips to the current traffic generating business centers.
Limiting private car ownership as advocates want is therefore unrealistic because there are plenty of trips that people make every day not serviced by public transport such as leisure.
Besides, car ownership is a kind of status symbol of having arrived and no one wants to miss the boat and, therefore, difficult to stop.
In the final analysis, we have to state clearly what we consider as Promised Land.
Would a five- or seven-minute improvement in the average travel from 25 minutes plus to 20 or 18 minutes per 10 kilometers in the whole metro area satisfactory to everyone?
If so, solving the problem is still doable.
We just have to find the right people to do it.
