Another toll rate hike in the offing?

No less than two of our friends called last week just to confirm what they have been hearing that there is another toll rate increase being planned by the management of the North Expressway.

I was the first one they all thought of calling considering that I wrote in this column just a few weeks ago about how the last toll hike came silently like "a thief in the night" — not much fuss and there wasn’t even a whimper of protest from the government or from cause-oriented groups that normally holler at such actions.

The guys who called also shared the opinion of many about how the last toll increase, which came at the height of all the inconvenience resulting from the on-going rehabilitation, smelled like the motorists who use the North Expressway were being cooked in their own body oil by actually financing in part the rehab.

One of the guys could not reconcile in his mind how the government could have allowed such "rip off". He was unbelieving when he said, "Imagine, a toll increase right when everybody who uses the toll way experiences all the inconceivable hassles of traveling — heavy traffic, uneven roads, dust, etc., and it’s taking them like eternity to finish it? And lo and behold, they want another one?"

I have also gotten wind of such unsettling news of yet another toll hike at the North Expressway, which I still need to confirm. They should have some believable justifications to the motorists, especially the frequent users, if this is really true. Those uneven road surfaces in some multi-lane areas in Bulacan that I previously mentioned in this column, although currently paved, can prove to be quite unsafe, especially at fast speeds. They should be evened up for the motorists’ safety and comfort in traveling.

All of us can only speculate on this poised toll rate hike at the moment. We’ll have to wait for the management of the North Expressway to move before we can comment further on this issue. Worry not for I shall keep you posted.

Caltex Philippines leads the way

With the objective of promoting safety awareness among public transport drivers, other motorists and pedestrians and to recognize the public transport drivers’ contributions to the country’s economic growth, Caltex Philippines launched six months ago the search for "The 10 Outstanding Public Transport Drivers" of the country.

Last April 27, at the Orchidarium, Rizal Park, 8 jeepney and 2 bus drivers were given due recognition in fitting ceremonies and a cash award of P100,000.00 and other prizes after hurdling actual driving examinations conducted by the LTO, medical tests, background investigation and record checks done by the NBI, MMDA and the PNP and hours of interview conducted by 2 panels of judges from Caltex, members of the media, transport sectors and other government agency partners and were selected from 94 entries short listed by 11 major transport associations from their thousands-member rosters.

The 10 Outstanding Drivers are: Ronnie Balbido, Antonio Cardenas, Gilbert Cristobal, Felimon De Leon, Redentor Fajardo, Christopher Llanos, Ruben Opis, Jerry Sencil, Eduardo Torno and Lamberto Vergara Jr.

Kudos to Caltex Philippines for conceiving this project, which we hope they would continue through the years as it visibly reflects Caltex’s desire to develop worthwhile community engagement programs that build pro-active partnerships with the Filipino people as they have always proven in the past.

This venture can be a part of the many undertakings that the business and the private sectors to help promote the awareness to discipline and road courtesy among our drivers, especially those in the public utilities.

Bulging Cyberspace Mailbag

I am admittedly remiss lately in my acknowledging our wonderful readers who take the time to drop us a line to put into fore some motoring issues or just to say hello or let me know how much they enjoy reading this column and have made it a permanent part of their Wednesday mornings as they reach out for their favorite newspaper.

Allow me just to pull out at random this week some letters from my bulging cyberspace mailbag like this one from Mr. Neville Cadoux, who’s thinking of putting up a small Go Kart track for kids in Lucena City. It caught my attention because this could mean starting them young in the basic rudiments of racing by learning Go Kart at an early age. Mr. Cadoux’s problem is where to get these karts for kids and he wants help.

Well, I can only think of these Belgian guys from Speedzone at The Fort who are currently running a professional Go Kart track. They may be able to refer you to their sources of their karts. Their telephone number is 0916-5794884 and the man to look for is Hanz Desmet. Hope that’ll help you and good luck on your endeavor that would definitely help develop motor sports in the country.

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Ms. Maria Felisa Yap-Ginger, a Sigma Deltan from UP Diliman wrote to suggest that I feature a female biker, "who actually races motorbikes representing our country — the only female racer here" who attended one of their sorority events, whose name is Love Love.

I agree that having such attributes, she deserves a good feature here or on any of our TV shows, if only to serve as a role model for other lady bikers. But I think you’ll have to give me more to work on than just her name. Incidentally, I have good news for the country’s bikers. Very soon we shall have a portion on our TV show, Motoring Today that shall focus on the latest news and developments in the local biking world. Watch for it.

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Mr. Gustavo Godofredo Reyes II wrote to express his disgust over the presence of railings in some parts of EDSA in Makati. He said these railing achieve nothing but to cause more traffic in the area.

In reaction to this letter and other similar reactions to this issue, I have lined up this topic on our TV show Motoring Today to be discussed on the segment Motoring Forum. We shall try to have the officials of the MMDA to explain the rationale behind these railings and if it would appear to be a bad idea to begin with, try to convince them to re-think it altogether. Of course we’ll keep you posted about the matter in this column.

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Thanks for the compliment from reader Mr. Gilmar D. Reyes, who has also been a viewer of our TV shows since his early college and is now working for one of the country’s top automotive firms being much inspired watching our TV programs.

Mr. Ildefonso Maminta, let me look into your info that most automobiles in the Philippines come with tires that have uni-directional threads for both sides of the vehicle, which according to you may affect handling.

Mr. Norrick Baes, let me refer your problem with your vehicle to our technical pool for diagnosis. I have a pretty good idea of what may really be wrong with it but I’d rather refer it to the real experts.

I still have quite a bale of letters, which I shall find the time and the space to acknowledge the next time. Patience is a virtue, remember.

Pit Lane Notes

Sorry, but with the elections our deadlines have been adjusted that I have to write this piece way ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix scheduled last Sunday.

The big story among the local motoring journalists is still the possibility of getting to see the first ever Formula One Grand Prix to be held in China — Shanghai to be precise.

We can only look to local auto giants that are very active in F1 — Honda and Toyota to make this a reality.

Pressure ba, guys?

Motoring Tip Of The Week

Having come and gone to the beaches or anywhere near the sea on your out of town trips this summer may have exposed your vehicles to sea water. Don’t gamble on it, have your vehicle washed thoroughly especially the under chassis to prevent rust from forming. There are a lot of neighborhood car wash shops to do this or better still do it yourself. You would only need a water hose and strong running water to do the job. Well, the hose may not be much of a problem, but strong water? Love your car and you’ll definitely go far.

Happy Motoring!!!

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