DOTC ignores suggestion

It is bad enough that the guys at DOTC and MMDA seem incapable in dealing with our transport needs. They also do not welcome meaningful suggestions from concerned citizens on how to make our traffic problems bearable. Par for the course. DOTC also doesn’t welcome offers from the private sector to build a new Manila airport and to rehabilitate MRT 3 at no cost to the taxpayers.

I just found out that my friend, Rene Santiago, internationally recognized transport expert, volunteered a suggestion on how to alleviate traffic congestion on the route going to NAIA. Rene prepared last March, gratis, a powerpoint presentation on how to make sure airline passengers get to the airport on time.

Only DPWH Sec. Babes Singson responded positively to Rene. The other agencies totally ignored him. Rene’s proposal makes a lot of sense. If it was implemented, those passengers trapped in an 8-hour gridlock the Friday before last wouldn’t have missed their flights.

Rene thought of making the plan because he is a frequent traveler to regional countries that consult him for their transport infrastructure plans. He knows what missing a flight means to his consultancy business.

Rene anticipated the massive traffic jams arising from the large construction projects along the airport route. He was also worried about the negative impression our traffic gridlocks will have on APEC delegates who have been coming here for a few months now.

The usual MMDA advisories telling motorists to take alternative routes no longer work. As Rene pointed out, there are no alternative routes to Terminals 1,2,3 and 4. 

The simple truths are these: roads are already at saturation level and the construction of the NAIA expressway has taken at least two lanes coming and going. There are 91,300 vehicles on the NAIA Road section going to T1, T2 and Imelda Avenue. More than 86 percent of trips to T2 are made by cars and 99 percent for T1.

It is obvious the number of car trips must be reduced. We must bear in mind we need to move people not cars. This can be done by displacing car trips with bus trips.

So, Rene proposed that the responsible government agencies work together to provide shuttle bus service to the three terminals. The buses should run on dedicated/priority lanes. Passengers can be picked up or dropped at 3 locations (Bay Area, BGC and Makati).

Rene figures it will take 18 buses operating at 10-minute headway in four routes. The 18 buses should be able to handle 40,000 persons a day over 16 hours.

The buses should be air-conditioned, low-floor bus, configured for seating and standing, with provision for luggage storage. The buses should be equipped with GPS and on-board CCTV cameras, with well-trained (TESDA-certified) drivers, in uniforms. Payment will be by an electronic payment system. The buses should be low (or zero) emission vehicles – at least Euro 4 compliant.

Making the bus services operational will also demonstrate government’s “Green” credentials, hence, the Euro-4 compliance standard. It will also be a good test for BRT concept, a DOTC priority, hence, dedicated lanes + managed headways.

Rene also defined the responsibilities of public and private agencies under his proposal. NAIA officials should provide loading/unloading bays direct to ramps of T-1, T-2 and T-3, including appropriate signage to guide passengers.

DOTC/LTFRB should grant CPC or Provisional Authority for the Shuttle Bus service to operate, without need of hearing. MMDA  should designate/mark road lanes as busways and enforce restrictions to other motorists on the bus ways.

Mall owners will provide lounge space, for passengers boarding and alighting the shuttle bus; install real-time flight information screens; provide lay-over/depot space.

Expressway operator must delineate road lanes for the busway, including barriers & bypassing block (2 locations). Bus Operator will operate buses according to demand, at 10-15 minutes headway.

One other thing NAIA authorities can do is to allow a separate shuttle service to utilize internal roads, for passengers moving between T1, T2, T3, and T4. Forcing them to use the external roads is a sure fire way of making them miss their connecting flights.

According to Rene, Sec. Babes was enthusiastic enough about the plan to feel that it should be a permanent service. But unfortunately, without DOTC and MMDA on board, the proposal died a natural death in a bureaucrat’s desk.

I recall they tried an airport bus scheme in the past that didn’t gain  acceptance. Maybe the need for it was not as urgent then as it is now. It is also necessary to impose private vehicle access restrictions in the airport route similar to what Singapore imposes in its Central Business District. The congestion fee should be prohibitive enough or people will still opt to use their cars. 

People complaining about missing their flights due to traffic jams must be ready to contribute to an interim solution by leaving their cars at home and take the airport bus instead. We cannot just bitch about the bad traffic situation. As Rene points out, bitching won’t alleviate the gravity of the traffic problem. He presented his ideas but was ignored by DOTC and MMDA.

On Wednesday, my friend Ed Yap is moderating a forum of the Management Association of the Philippines with no less than DOTC Sec. Jun Abaya as principal speaker. I hope Sec Abaya does not become too defensive and be more receptive to the suggestions to be presented there. 

It is unfortunate that over the past few weeks, P-Noy’s boys have shown a horrible lack of empathy to this plague upon our lives. It was totally insulting for Mar to say the traffic problem is a sign of prosperity and for Sec. Jun to say the traffic jams have not killed anyone. 

It is bad enough that P-Noy is notorious for his lack of empathy and his detachment to the problems of common people. That his officials, including the one who wants to succeed him, also exhibit such a malady is tragic.

There is no doubt that most solutions to our traffic problem require large amounts of time and capital. It is unfortunate DOTC officials wasted the last five years. Our officials must show they appreciate our plight and show a sincere effort to do something to alleviate our daily sufferings.

Everything that is wrong with the governance of this country can be seen in our streets every day. These traffic jams in our streets and in the air over our airports cannot be dismissed as signs of prosperity. These are signs of government incompetence. Ignored, these will become valid election issues that will bring the Liberal Party down in next year’s election.

If Mar, Abaya and company are at a loss for solutions, they should say so and P-Noy should be obligated to seek expert help elsewhere. We do not lack transport experts in this nation of 100 million who are ready to contribute what they can for the national good. But there has to be humility on the part of P-Noy and his boys to seek help we all know they need.

Something has to give and believe me, something will… sooner rather than later.

Tourism numbers

I got this e-mail from former Tourism Sec. Bertie Lim:

Hi Boo

Re your article on tourism numbers, perhaps these numbers may add clarity.

International arrivals to the Philippines grew at a compounded average growth rate of four percent from 1980 to 2009. We hit 1 million visitors for the first time in 1980. We had around 3 million in 2009. Globally, international tourism (vs domestic) grows at around four percent, so we were at par.

For the record, my target for 2016 was 6 million international visitors, not 5 million as you stated. That was a projected CAGR of 10 percent, two and a half times the previous CAGR. This even if I was aware of our infrastructure limitations. I had developed resorts that had to build their own aerodromes. In my personal experience, access and product quality were more strategic than promotions.

In fact, I tested whether 20 percent CAGR could be achieved by other countries. I found out that Singapore was able to do it when they opened their two casino complexes. But they can not sustain 20 per cent growth on casinos alone. So I opted for a more realistic target which was beyond our grasp then, but not beyond our reach.

From the strategic tourism plan just completed before I left DOT, we identified P35 billion worth of tourism roads. I was gratified when my classmate Babes Singson informed me the other day that DPWH completed P60 billion in their tourism roads program, one of his most successful convergence programs.

Boo’s note: the figure of 5 million came from one of Bertie’s undersecretaries. When I asked him about it again, he replied: “5M was the working target when I was at DOT.  Shortly after I resigned in November 2010, Bertie engaged a group to develop the Tourism Master Plan. He must have adjusted his target based on that plan. Sorry, I was not aware of it, and did not keep track of what he actually committed to.”

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco