Metro 8-5

Imagine what a Metro 8-5 would look like?

If you didn’t figure it out at the onset, Metro 8-5 is a scenario where at least half if not two thirds of Metro Manila come in and work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. then leave the “City” to go home to the real “suburbs” and not just the extended territories of Metro Manila like Taguig, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela or Antipolo.

Many years ago people worked in Makati and went home to Quezon City. All that has changed and we are all stuck in one giant “City” called Metro Manila and it had to take a foreigner to point out what we have been saying since last year, that Metro Manila is doomed to extinction or at the very least utter breakdown due to congestion, pollution and over population.

So many people have talked about decongesting Metro Manila and relocating businesses and services outside Metro Manila, but no one is biting that and just thinking of the logistical nightmare is enough to turn off the most well-intentioned urban planner. Actually the genuine urban planners I’ve heard from have all said the same thing: Just get the people to live outside Metro Manila. That would be a lot easier and faster.

Your first response will probably be, “too far and too long” which under the present circumstance is accurate. But as they say if there is a will there is a way and in order to figure that out, you simply have to “walk the pain of your customer.”

The first thing we need to do is make it easier and cheaper to get into and out of Metro Manila. In the absence of a Mass Transit System or a fully functional train system, the most efficient options left are BRT/buses and motorcycle/scooters.

In many big cities we visited in the world, I noticed that workers flocked into the cities in the morning and moved out in the late afternoon or evenings via trains or cars. They maintained a physical separation between where they worked and where they lived or rested.

During a trip to Malaysia, we observed that the express highway we were using had a dedicated lane exclusively for use of motorcycles and scooters. If we adapted this, the equivalent would be using the emergency service lane and giving it to motorcycles and scooters for free. Safety measures and engineering adjustments can easily be applied and the economic possibilities will certainly be very attractive for all.

This would give many employees, workers and students inside Metro Manila the option of riding their motorbikes in and out of Metro Manila or taking government commuter buses while living outside Metro Manila where it would be cheaper, and subsequently expanding economic development while truly “Opening the City” instead of congesting it.

Two thirds of Metro Manila’s work force or day time population might even have a better quality of life as well as more bang for their bucks since rentals, food prices, schools and many other daily expenses are cheaper at source. Instead of building for the already rich, new townships built on cheaper real estate can be developed for first time homeowners or start up couples. Lower and middle class developments would rise to welcome these people who could now dedicate their rental money on rent to own homes.

Aside from the prospect of property ownership living outside the Metro also gives many people the chance to live in areas where they can grow or raise their own food, live and rest in places that have cleaner air and are less congested than Metro Manila. Even quality education is no longer the exclusive domain of Metro Manila as more and more students from province based schools top government exams and national competitions.

In fact, many people we know who have ventured or “experimented” part time living outside Metro Manila have eventually embraced “provincial living” especially since the NLEX and SLEX has cut down travel time to half of what it used to be.

But would it benefit NLEX and SLEX to open up lanes for motorcycle riders? I got the answer from daily riders themselves who pointed out that the volume of riders that will build up on NLEX and SLEX would be a captured market for the various gas stations – stop areas along the expressways. Unlike car owners, most riders entering or leaving Metro Manila will eat, shop, refuel or transact business before they reach their destinations.

In fact, an overnight population boom on the expressways would be just the thing the proprietors need in order to inject new life and business beyond gas stations and fastfood. Anyone who has driven between Los Angeles and San Diego would be familiar with all the shopping and food “islands” along the two-hour drive.

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Instead of focusing on putting more buses on EDSA like the Express or double-decker, the government should focus on building up the BRT or non-stop buses going in and out of Metro Manila instead of UV express vans inefficiently flooding the expressways, jamming up EDSA and eating up parking lots in between the rush hours.

One reason why people have been discouraged from relocating outside Metro Manila is because the daily commute via “tourist buses” remains prohibitive for many people. There should be a special segment for “Commuter buses” even if it is only for the “rush hour” period that charges lower rates if it can be tax free, cheaper fuels etc.

To make it efficient and attractive the “Commuter run” should have a dedicated fast lane so a train of buses can cover the distance just as fast as private car owners can. If the buses are actually in good shape, well maintained and driven by well- trained drivers, there is no reason why they can’t travel at 100 kilometers per hour instead of just 80. From there, the UV express system can redistribute passengers to or from work or destination.

If we put our backs and not just our minds to it, we can one day witness what Metro 8-5. People simply have to move from the Board Room and out to the open.

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