Of other Road killers and BRT benefits

Before it inevitably slips under the radar, the death of veteran journalist and UP professor Lourdes “Chit”Estela-Simbulan should be a turning point in an all-too-clear, all-too-painful trend on that stretch of road ironically named Commonwealth.

How many more times do we attribute fatalities on the now infamous highway to that cop-out called “accident” when recklessness and irresponsibility are clearly at fault?

But even as pedestrians, commuters, and motorists are being injured and killed with disturbing regularity, the folks at the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center point out that there are other insidious, no less nefarious evils taking their toll on the health and lives of communities around Commonwealth.

As an introduction, the CAI-Asia Center helps promote better air quality and “liveable” cities “by translating knowledge to policies and actions that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy and other sectors.” The Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and USAID established the center in 2001 “as part of a global initiative that also includes Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Atty. Glynda Bathan-Baterina, policy and partnerships manager, insists that “protection of the public’s health from transport-related pollution should also be part of the concept of road safety.”

She explains, “Road transport-related air pollution should be a primary concern of the government especially along major highways because an analysis by the US-based Health Effects Institute of 700 studies worldwide shows the health effects of traffic-related air pollution are most severe along highways. That the health of people within 300 to 500 meters of a highway or major road (like EDSA, Commonwealth, and C5) are most at risk compared to others living much farther from a major road. The study also shows that exposure to traffic-related air pollution exacerbates asthma in children, causes non-asthma respiratory symptoms, impaired lung function, total and cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular morbidity.”

This is especially crucial, Bathan-Baterina explains, in a country where “one out of 16 Filipinos has asthma. It is imperative that air pollution from road transport should be addressed.”

Interestingly, the 60 km/h speed limit on Commonwealth helps address this concern. The key, therefore, is to enforce this limit; ensure that vehicles – particularly those killer buses – obey. “A device can be installed in buses that records their speed over time, and the record cannot be tampered with. If at any time the LTFRB wants to check a particular bus speed record, it can do so,” she says. “Some countries also require buses to attach a lighting device on the bus so that if at any time the driver exceeds the speed limit, it is easy for other motorists and enforcers to see.”

The CAI-Asia Center official also cites another aspect of the problem underlying the actuations of bus drivers. “It is good that the government is cognizant... that the commission system for drivers also part of the problem,” she says. Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why all these buses (not just on Commonwealth, of course) are speeding and weaving like intergalactic space cruisers. Just like taxis, they have to meet the boundary.

Volunteers Bathan-Baterina, “This might be a good time for the government to revisit the plans for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that was popularized in Latin America (particularly in Bogota, Colombia) and now spreading in Asia (with a very good example in Ahmedabad, India; China BRT systems are cropping up like wildfire in other cities like Guangzhou). The Ahmedabad BRT and the Guangzhou BRT systems won the Sustainable Transport Awards in 2010 and 2011, respectively.”

According to a CAI-Asia Center fact sheet BRT systems are “a more economical alternative for efficient public transport, and has now evolved into a broader urban transport solution... BRT systems are considered as a viable alternative to traditional light rail public transport. It provides the quality of light rail systems with the flexibility of buses at a fraction of the cost. Instead of a train or metrorail, BRT systems use buses to ply a dedicated lane that runs at the center of the road. At specific locations, passengers can embark or disembark at conveniently located stations, which often feature ticket booths, turnstiles, and automatic doors. BRT stations are designed in such a way that they can be easily accessed from surrounding areas, and if combined with pedestrian paths, cycle tracks and access to other transport modes, they provide good intermodal connectivity.”

These BRT systems, continues the CAI-Asia Center report, boast a number of other advantages. They are cheaper and faster to build, are profitable, feature high capacity (45,000 passengers per hour per direction), and are inexpensive for commuters compared to other motorized transport modes. BRTs are also “easily integrated into existing land use and, in fact, can help transform existing land use to provide co-benefits.” More importantly for CAI-Asia Center, a two-lane BRT system can reduce CO2/km emissions immensely – to the tune of 900 to 5,000 tons a year. That’s a whole lot of less pollution.

For the here and now, however, automotive technology expert Alex Loinaz proposes that we enact a “drive hour meter and tachograph” law “like those enforced in Japan, Europe, and the US.” Loinaz says, “This is also related to our labor code that limits the number of hours a person can work in a day. This ‘driver hour meter rule’ in effect forces the driver to drive a maximum of up to only 11 hours a day so that, in effect, they have no alternative but to become salaried drivers. The other reason is that they must be able to rest at least 11 hours prior to the next day’s drive schedule to ensure that they are well rested and physically fit to drive.”

May Ajero, CAI-Asia Center air quality program manager, relays some figures that should give us pause. “Pedestrians have a 90 percent chance of surviving a car crash at 30 km/h or below, but less than 50 percent chance during impacts of 45 km/h or above.”Note, of course, that the Commonwealth speed limit is 60 – which means sorry for jaywalkers and conscientious pedestrians alike.

Ajero continues that while we have a seatbelt law in the country, compliance (and enforcement) leaves much to be desired. She notes that, in particular, rear-seat car occupants are not even aware that they should be buckling up.

The clear lesson, pending the improvement of our laws, transportation, and traffic systems, is to drive defensively, alertly, and safely – particularly if you must pass through Commonwealth Avenue: an asteroid belt for intergalactic space cruisers.

Here are a couple of your Backseat Driver reactions from last week’s “Mission Impossible?” where we wrote about keeping one’s cool in an effort to contribute to road safety awareness…

Thank you for writing about this. Many drivers in Manila and the provinces have the wrong notion that by flashing their hazard lights, they have the right to inconvenience other motorists while they wait for whomever they are waiting for, for an eternity – and have the utter inanity to become hostile to anyone who points this out to them. – bruks_pt

I often find myself in the same situation. Mga motorcycle and tricycle na sumisingit... PUJs that suddenly stop at the middle of the road... Pedestrians crossing where there is a foot bridge just beside them... At sila pa ang galit pag na-businahan. Though, come to think of it, I feel better if I keep my cool and just laugh off the situation. Pag nag-init ang ulo mo, lalo lang mawawala ang diskarte mo kung saan ka man papunta. Kung may ka-meeting ka o may presentation kang gagawin, just cool lang. Laugh it off. Just picture the scene as that of “only in the Philippines” sort of situation. Laugh inside and we’ll feel better. Just a suggestion. – my2centsworth

Also, reader tangential was asking about the specs and pricing of the new Kia Picanto, the sneak peek of which served as our lead story last week. Dear reader, we are as much in the dark about it as you are as what we attended was a mere, well, sneak peek – and not the actual launch of the vehicle. We will keep you posted as soon as we get all the necessary information. Watch this space…