No more business as usual?

Now that almost all classes are open and the monsoon season is on, the traffic jams are back to their worst. For sure I’m not the only one who, while my car is crawling along the traffic-choked streets, muses about things that are just the stuff of our dreams:

• Mass transport vehicles that unload and pick up passengers only at designated stops. At each stop there are printed signs or electronic crawlers that show the arrival times of the mass transport vehicle for each specific destination – and the schedules are followed strictly.

• Intermodal transport hubs, with escalators and elevators, where commuters can transfer from high-speed express trains to slower inner city light trains, buses, taxis and other modes of public conveyance. The hubs allow commuters to travel efficiently from residential areas to schools and the central business district all the way to university towns, airports and seaports.

Such transport systems have been around for decades in other countries. They also have river ferries and electric trams. In several green cities, rent-a-bicycle or e-vehicle services are gaining popularity.

Will such mass transport systems remain a pipe dream in our country?

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Our public transport system is in such a mess you don’t know where to start, but the guy currently in charge of making things better isn’t about to throw his hands up. In fact, Chairman Martin Delgra III of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is now touting a model for a better way of doing things.

It’s not surprising that the model is in a place that was razed by a cataclysmic natural disaster: Tacloban. In the city that bore the brunt of Super Typhoon Yolanda’s fury, a number of public utility vehicles or PUVs no longer stop and linger anywhere they please, hogging nearly all the lanes even on the widest road, to pick up as many passengers before moving on.

What post-Apocalyptic miracle happened? No miracle, says Delgra, but an openness to new ways of doing things.

For starters, several PUV operators in the city agreed to try out the solar-powered e-jeepneys that the government is pushing as part of the jeepney modernization program. The e-jeepneys are equipped with CCTV cameras, an automatic fare collection system and dash cams.

The operators also agreed to abolish the boundary system, under which drivers are paid on commission depending on how many passengers they pick up, regardless of how long the drivers are on duty. Small operators were organized into cooperatives and, together with fleet operators, were granted franchises for specific routes, with drivers given fixed salaries.

Bus and jeepney drivers have long complained about the boundary system. But the owners argue that they need to pack PUVs with as many passengers as possible to make their operations viable.

Delgra, who faced “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News channel, told us that the LTFRB designated specific routes for the e-jeepneys in Tacloban, studied the average volume of passengers during weekdays and weekends as well as during peak and slow hours, and came up with an estimate on the profits to be earned even if the boundary system would be abolished.

The PUV operators apparently liked the idea enough to go along with the so-called salary scheme for drivers. With regular schedules now followed, Delgra said the operators can afford to field more trips over two shifts of eight hours each, with different sets of drivers, thereby boosting earnings.

Tacloban rolled out the e-jeepneys and salary scheme last January with an initial three franchises of 15 units each, or a total of 45 units.

So far, Delgra said, the scheme has been working, so he plans to present the Tacloban model to the jeepney operators of Metro Manila. He’s also pitching the salary system to bus operators, whose units pose the biggest traffic obstructions especially along EDSA.

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Unless the Big One flattens Metro Manila and allows total rebuilding from the ground up, it’s doubtful that I’ll see intermodal transport hubs with a modern train network in the mega city in my lifetime.

Even implementing the boundary scheme for buses is a formidable task for which Delgra may need top-level backing. Many bus operators can be described as kingpins, since the biggest either belong to political clans or are well-connected politically. Why do you think those buses are left alone when they turn various spots along EDSA and other thoroughfares into their virtual terminals? It’s not just because the barangay, police and MMDA traffic managers find happiness in looking away, but also because they know that several bus companies are owned by influential people.

Yes, Juan and Juana, even our traffic mess is caused by the wealthy and powerful in our country. Still, it looks like hope springs eternal for the LTFRB chief.

Delgra, a lawyer from Davao City who was part of President Duterte’s legal team during the 2016 campaign, has himself been accused of protecting colorum buses in Bicol. The accuser was sacked by Delgra over corruption allegations. 

There are no such accusations so far in Metro Manila. Delgra told us that the LTFRB had started talking to the operators in the National Capital Region to persuade them that there’s a better way of running a public transport business. Perhaps a helpful prod from President Duterte could soften resistance from the operators, especially the political clans.

Once the new schemes are shown to work, there can be no turning back. We shouldn’t need a Yolanda-type catastrophe to put an end to business as usual in our chaotic streets.