MANILA, Philippines — With people beginning to troop back to work where they can, the government has been "ghosting" the needs of the transport sector that it should be making a priority, a senator said Tuesday.
In a statement Tuesday, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto called on the national government to look at including public transportation in its stimulus plan as part of its novel coronavirus response.
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According to the Omnibus Public Transportation Protocols and Guidelines set by the transportation department and the COVID-19 task force, besides capacity and load factors, all permitted PUVs, transport terminals and operators are required to comply with guidelines that reduce contact with passengers.
Recto pointed out that "[ev]ven the regular disinfection of vehicles is another cost that will whittle down their daily income. Alcohol “na hindi lang pang-sports, pang-pasada pa” will not be given for free. Add to these the requirement for jeepney and van drivers to record the names and contact numbers of their passengers and they will have their hands full, literally."
"Government should assist their transition to the new normal. Their crucial role entitles them a place in front of the line for the stimulus fund. After all, what they get from the government will not be for their personal consumption, but to retool the vehicles for the riding public’s safety," he added.
"Such assistance also does not require project proposals or complex financial spreadsheets. It is retail spending, which can be carried out with ease. But in the plethora of government proposals...the transport sector does not seem to have a prominent and urgent role. It appears they have been ghosted by the government."
Recto's statement comes after a coalition of commuter groups and transport planners and advocates earlier tagged public transport in the time of coronavirus as a “ticking time-bomb."
The coalition said there is a risk of “massive loss of human life from a second, more severe wave” of the COVID-19 outbreak if the infamous congestion of public transport is not resolved, saying the government would do well to prioritize the welfare of commuters to diffuse it once movement restrictions are eased.
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"Travel and transport are [concerns of workers too, and] they can only get back to work if they can go to places of work safely without COVID hitching a ride. But the new normal in the pandemic world calls for public transport with reduced capacity and higher operating expense, and yet financially viable to operate," his statement read.
"The adjustments will cost money—small by Ramon Ang standards, but a fortune for a jeepney driver or an independent taxi operator who hasn’t seen a fare for more than two months. The installation of plastic dividers in taxis, dividing curtains in jeepneys, the migration to cashless fare will be a big investment for them," he added.
"Even before COVID, MRT, LRT and PNR were already struggling to operate above capacity. Social distancing now forces them to deeply slash their ridership."
Reduced capacity could cripple transport operators
In an earlier exchange with Philstar.com, commuter group AltMobility PH echoed these sentiments, saying that the lower volume of commuters could also spell further difficulty in covering costs for operators.
"If operating at 30-percent capacity, operators may not be able to fully cover their costs. They may not be interested run services in the first place if without subsidy," Jedd Ugay, AltMobility PH chief mobility officer said.
"Probably the best option is for government to create service contracts which dictate the services that need to be provided by operators in adherence to social distances guidelines. Service contracts can enable resumption of services regardless of passenger volume."
Mass transportation crisis
PNR General Manager Jun Magno has said that they expect train systems to be operational at just a fourth of its capacity during the lifting of ECQ, while the public has been told to brace for longer waiting times as a result as MRT-3 Director Michael Capati was quoted as saying that this could mean waiting time could last from two to three hours under the new system.
The new capacities for train systems include:
- LRT-1: 43 per train car, 158 per train set, or only 12% of its capacity
- LRT-2: 40 per train car, 160 per train set, or only 10% of its capacity
- MRT-3: 51 per train car, 153 per train set, or only 13% of its capacity
- PNR: 148 average persons per train car or 20% capacity on average
MRT-3 car specifications acquired by Philstar.com earlier showed that with capacities of around 390 per car and with each set linking three to four cars, the MRT-3 should be able to service 1,560 passengers per set under different circumstances.
RELATED: Why some are saying 'social distancing' is a privilege
Even before the novel coronavirus struck and severely restricted movement and transportation, commuter, labor and transport groups alike began calling the situation a mass transportation crisis, though the Palace was quick to deny that such a crisis existed.
'More fearsome than the Train to Busan'
At the Senate Committee on Public Services’ inquiry into the resumption of mass transportation under general community quarantine, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Martin Delgra said that the board estimated around 2.4 million commuters would return to use public transportation, effectively clogging up the system's already-limited capacity.
"To say this is catastrophic for passengers, who months ago would queue for hours for the chance to squeeze themselves into packed coaches is an understatement. An LRT and MRT with reduced capacity will be more fearsome than the Train to Busan," Recto said in his statement.
"If social distancing will be enforced on domestic airlines and provincial buses, it will result in higher ticket prices, and longer waiting time to book passage. Any semblance of normalcy requires us to move people and products around safely. Absent this, is a picture of an economy at a standstill," he added.
"This is why when it comes government spending, attention and resources, transportation should not be hanging on the back burner—it should be on the front seat," he said.