Over the last couple of weeks, two issues in the traffic front emerged that could potentially add misery to the long-suffering motoring public. These were the jeepney strike that inconvenienced the riding public, and the announcement by our traffic authorities to implement an odd and even traffic plan on major thoroughfares to complement the existing number coding traffic program of the Metro Manila Development Authority.
The jeepney strike about two weeks ago was to protest the plan of the government to phase out jeepneys that are 15 years old or older. This plan is actually quite reasonable to protect not only the health of the riding public but their safety as well. After all, the riding public is entitled to clean and safe public transport.
But the jeepney transport operators did not take this plan very kindly and went on strike, with more strikes planned in the future. Unfortunately, the government as usual was unable to plan properly on how to counter the strike and did the usual practice of cancelling classes, thereby emboldening the strikers.
This problem of the jeepney and what to do with it in the metropolitan area needs to be addressed by the government with a thorough study. Is the jeepney as a mass transport mode still relevant in Metro Manila in this day and age? Should the government continue to rely on the private sector to provide public mass transport? We already know how the jeepney started after World War 2. Seventy-two years on, it is still around. Although ideal as a door-to-door transport, the jeepney is dirty, unsafe and mostly uninsured to the detriment of passengers in case of accidents. The jeepney is also not efficient because it does not carry that many passengers and occupy too much road space. The behavior of the jeepney drivers is also a major cause of traffic gridlock in our city roads.
The government must now be able to modernize public transport. In fact there is no jeepney that is less than 15 years old. All jeepney engines are more than 20 years old because these are surplus materials from Japan. It is about time that the jeepney or anything like it be phased out from highly urbanized cities all over the country. Having said that, the government must now start the process of planning and coming out with alternative mass transport systems. The government must also wake up to the realization that urban mass transportation is a government responsibility first and foremost. The sooner we realize this the faster we should be able come out with alternative solutions.
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The plan to implement an odd-and-even traffic scheme to complement the current number coding system should be studied carefully. The obvious outcome of this plan if implemented would be to further congest the secondary roads in the metro area. The aim is to remove 50 percent of vehicles off the major roads although in reality, 60 percent will be taken out because the current number coding program will still be enforced.
When I was handling traffic in the NCR, we attempted to implement a temporary odd-and-even scheme due to the simultaneous constructions going on all over Metro Manila but did not go through with it because of intense opposition. There seems to be more willingness to accept such an unprecedented solution today. Normally, the odd and even scheme is implemented on a short-term basis to solve a temporary problem like lessening smog. Our traffic planners however, seem to want the program on a more or less permanent basis.
This is going to be very hard on car owners. It would be interesting to see how long they can cope with the program. So far, no thorough study about the plan has been made public. For instance, how would the secondary roads be cleared in order to absorb more traffic? Since there will be around 60-percent reduction of traffic volume along major thoroughfares, will the current restrictions on these roads now be lifted so that this will not add to the congestion on the secondary roads? To some, this plan may be a desperate attempt on the part of the government to try to solve a problem that seem to be simply beyond its expertise to handle.
Having been in the same predicament years ago, I sympathize with MMDA general manager Thomas Orbos. I do believe however, that are still a few things that can be done to ameliorate the horrendous traffic problem that confronts all of us on a daily basis—although I must say that these will probably not solve the problem the way we all want it.
Since Orbos is an ex-seminarian, he can probably look more to the heavens for guidance on what to do.
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In a few days, former President Fidel V. Ramos will be reaching another milestone in his long and illustrious career. He will be 89 years old on March 18 and still going strong. This all started in the plains of West Point as the first Filipino post-war graduate in 1950 to the battle fields of Korea. After Korea, he served in the anti-Huk campaign in the Southern Tagalog Region and then went to serve with distinction with the PhilCag contingent in the jungles of South Vietnam in the early 1960s. He became the longest serving Chief of the Philippine Constabulary. He also became the AFP Chief of Staff and Secretary of National Defense before being rewarded by the Filipino people with his election as the president of the country in 1992.
A very Happy Birthday.