Ban the ban

They might not last 30 days, but there is great wisdom in the suggestion that government officials and policy makers should be forced to “commute” or take public transportation to work so they may know what the general public has to go through just to get from point A to point B in their daily life. If I had a way, I would ask President Duterte to make the Metro Manila Mayors as well as MMDA and DOTr officials to walk their customers’ pain resulting from the idiotic ban on provincial buses along EDSA.

In the first place, the entire idea or program is half-baked or uncooked because many issues remain unresolved or unaddressed. Last Sunday evening, our household help returned from Lipa with her 10-year- old sister in tow. Our helper was surprised to learn that provincial buses could no longer load or unload along EDSA or at the Crossing junction. Instead they had to go all the way to the bus terminal in Cubao. Cross over to the southbound lane and take a “city bus” that is allowed to unload back at the crossing junction. Discovery: there is not enough public information especially at bus terminals like the one at SM Lipa City and the likes. Government officials think that a simple press conference or press release serves the purpose. No, it does not. Not even posting information on Facebook suffices. Go where your customers go, buy, load or ride. Stop being armchair – air-conditioned Amos in government. Understand the process of communicating with the public.

The Ban on Provincial Buses went through the dry run or testing period last week and as far as I am concerned it was failure on many points. First, it did not magically transform EDSA into a traffic free zone. Nor did it result in an observable decongestion. After all, we still have to move the same number of people along EDSA, and in many cases commuters have to double back on their route. Second, the ban simply inconvenienced commuters who live outside Metro Manila and worked within the Metro. Travel time and waiting time took longer and cost more. Third, the concerned government agencies miserably failed to ensure that the support system, meaning seamless loading and unloading, and transfer of passengers from provincial to city buses happened.

I pray to God that the Supreme Court magistrates get to read this article as they study whether or not to issue a TRO on the provincial bus ban because I humbly bring to their attention and consideration the fact that the government officials concerned, focused primarily on the BAN and arresting bus drivers instead of first making sure that their great big venture was actually complete from point to point and would result in something better than what is already on the ground and actually works despite its imperfections. As the saying goes: why fix the wheel if it ain’t broke, or why reinvent the wheel? Ban the Ban on EDSA

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There is hope! And by this I refer to the improvements that have been introduced by the LTO under Assistant Secretary Ed Galvante, particularly with the renewal of drivers licenses. I recently renewed my license at the LTO Pasig office along Shaw Boulevard and was pleasantly surprised to see that the waiting area had been enclosed and air-conditioned. That to me is a major improvement given how hot this summer has been and the heat can seriously harm elderly clients of the LTO. When I went for the “medical examination” I found out that much of the process was computerized and that customers did not have to fill up forms twice if not three times.

In the past, you were asked to fill in your height, weight, etc. yourself. But this time a nurse actually got all the details, all in line with accurately reflecting or indicating your data on your license card. This was followed by an eye examination and it was there that I went: Lo and Behold! It was not just a simple reading of numbers and alphabets on the board they actually had a machine and an optometrist or technician to check your eyesight and “grade”. Part of the test even included the “Ishihara Eye test” to determine if a “would be” driver is color blind or not. As I came out of the medical clinic, I overheard an incoming customer complain about the P500 charge for the medical exam. It’s ironic because I know of a few cases where the medical exam helped people discover they had hypertension, were colorblind or had limited field of vision. For me, the medical examinations help filter out or exclude people who are medically unfit to operate a motor vehicle and who could end up killing us. Thanks to the LTO’s computerization of their medical exams, all branches now share the files so anyone excluded in one branch can’t go to another to get a license. You can only be cleared at the agency you were tested and excluded at.

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Tomorrow May 2, the GoNegosyo foundation under Secretary Joey Concepcion will host the First Tourism Summit at the World Trade Center Manila. Part of the summit will cover sustainable tourism alongside the presentation and suggestion of some 35 speakers from all over ASEAN. The Summit holds a lot of promise especially at a time when we have the world’s attention for successfully pulling off the cleaning and rehabilitation of Boracay, the ongoing clean up of Manila Bay as well and a renewed thrust toward growth and promotion in the tourism sector under DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat.

The Summit holds a lot of promise, but like anything of significance there comes a lot of disruption and confrontation. Participants will surely be confronted with a lot of “what needs to be done” and “what you’re doing wrong” discussions. Nonetheless, let’s all pray that the summit will produce at least one major proposition for President Duterte to act on such as a fast track policy on airport construction and development with very little bureaucratic delays, or a comprehensive national training program for students, single proprietors, or “mom & pop” investors that would equip them to enter the tourism industry. As Joey Concepcion said tourism is one of the few truly inclusive industries, and therefore we should help the least to find their place in the sun and on the beach!

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