Better Philippines

Recklessness On The Road: Sobra Na, Tama Na!

Someone ought to file a class action suit against all government agencies in charge of all land transportation concerns here in the Philippines. The  way I see it real punitive action must be taken against these agencies for failing to correct the very obvious fact that many Filipino drivers especially those in the public transport sector do not care about ROAD SAFETY.

I’ve been very conscious of this since a few months ago after our car got rear-ended by a delivery truck. This issue also became a major part of my consciousness during the Holy Week vacation as well since the two trips I took had me driving through the whole length of three expressways: South Luzon Expressway, North Luzon Expressway, and Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway. The trip back to Metro Manila from Subic is especially worth mentioning (in a negative sense).

Here’s a summary of what happened. Shortly after passing through the NLEX tollgate at the Pampanga end, we encountered a traffic jam. Initially, I thought it was due to the high volume of motorists making their way back to Metro Manila. I was wrong. The cause of the bottleneck were two separate pile-ups or multi-vehicle collisions. One of the accidents involved at least three vehicles, the last two of which clearly figured in that situation because of a failure to keep proper braking distance.

I admit that because of the accident I had a few months back I was anxious about driving along expressways. The main reason for this is that I can no longer trust other motorists to know enough about the physics involved in driving a motor vehicle.

As it so happened, the basis for my fears and anxiety was real. I had expected each and every motorist who drove by the scene of the two accidents to be reminded of the dangers of driving recklessly along an expressway. I was wrong.

Just after passing those pile-ups, several cars whizzed by at speeds well over the maximum speed limit. While I may have just dismissed their stupid driving as something that did not concern me, I really couldn’t because simply put: their recklessness endangered not only themselves but others as well including me and my passengers.

Two particular idiots actually almost hit our vehicle. They were driving their vehicles really fast and it was already dark at that time so I was unable to even get their plate numbers. I can vividly remember though that they were driving a sedan and a bus.

What happened was really dangerous. First, the sedan moved past our vehicle at breakneck speed, overtaking several vehicles on the fast lane. (We were on the second lane from the inside at that time, by the way.) Within a millisecond of the sedan passing us came this big-ass bus. I swear I almost felt my soul leaving my body as I noticed from my rear-view mirror how close that bus came to hitting the left-rear portion of our vehicle. Balahibo lang ang distansya.

From the looks of it, those two idiot drivers were engaged in a chase. I can only speculate what happened but clearly at that point the bus driver was probably so determined to get back at the driver of the sedan that he just couldn’t let the other driver go. Btw, I estimate the speed of those two idiot-driven vehicles at that time to be at least around 12o kph. What was really scary about that was that the distance of the bus from the sedan was only about three to four meters. What if the sedan were to suddenly lower its speed? The bus would have certainly rammed the sedan considering the lack of sufficient reaction and braking distance.

So am I encouraging the filing of a class action suit against our land transportation agencies because of this? I certainly am. But why? Simple lang. Our roads have become very dangerous now just judging from the number of accidents that occur on a daily basis. The impunity many Filipino drivers display is already troubling and with the way our land transportation agencies are working it seems this impunity will continue.

Our land transportation agencies have failed many times over to ensure that (a) only people who are in their right minds are given licenses to drive;  (b) professional drivers such as those in the public transport sector really know how to drive safely; (c) defects in road designs are addressed; (d) conditions or situations that contribute to the environment of recklessness on the road are eliminated (e) etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

The mere fact that on Metro Manila roads puv drivers practically control the flow of traffic and pose great risk to other motorists because of their need to earn their day’s keep within a quota system are already enough reasons to blame all these agencies. Besides, why shouldn’t we blame them? The responsibility to do whatever it takes to keep public roads safe for everyone falls on them.

A few questions running through my mind: Why is driving in the Philippines a very dangerous activity? This situation is nothing new so why has it remained unresolved? What are these agencies and the people running them doing? Are they waiting for their own relatives to fall victim to the recklessness of idiot drivers before they decide to take action?

Kung di ninyo kaya ayusin ang sistema ng transportasyon sa Pilipinas, tounge in a new magpasagasa na lang kayo! Sa pison kung pwede lang!

(this is an unedited rant. I’m too pissed to care about editing right now.)

Possible Solutions To Traffic

I haven’t been updating this blog for some time now. I thought I’d be rid of writer’s block by now but it seems it might take me a while before I can get back to my old routine.

Fortunately, a reader by the name of dvopilgrim left a comment that I thought deserves its own space not only because of its length but because it contains a number ideas worth thinking about. He left this comment on an old post of mine titled “The Root Cause of Metro Manila’s Traffic Problem.”

Jeepney: Blessing or Curse?

The jeepney had been a symbol of Filipino culture and ingenuity. Modified from surplus American jeeps to accommodate many passengers, it had been around since the end of World War II as the staple of public transportation all over the country, especially in big cities.

I admit that my frustration with Manila traffic contributed much to my thoughts in this post. But I believe that the jeepney today, instead of being the blessing that it had been in the past 60 years, has become an archaic relic of the past, an invention that had its day, and should be encased in a museum of Philippine history.

Its predominance in the highways and byways has turned from a blessing to a curse. Because of the lack of discipline, and knowledge of and obedience to traffic rules, regulations and signs, it is the main cause of the horrible Metro Manila traffic. It is the primary culprit of the noxious smog that envelops most urban areas. (How do these chimneys pass the anti-smog inspection?) Most of them have little or no insurance, and coupled with lack of discipline and knowledge, they cause many costly accidents.

The secondary problems that jeepneys cause are many: long commute hours, low-productivity, respiratory health problems, waste of gas, and corruption among traffic police and enforcers, in addition to hearing problems because of the blaring radios!

Possible Solutions

It is difficult to pinpoint one or two causes of the huge traffic problems in metro areas because there are many. But in addition to the lack of discipline among all drivers and out-of-control motorcycle and tricycle drivers, I can see two other major contributors.

The first is the number of commuters all day long because, for one thing, even the simplest transactions cannot be done by phone or online, but only in person. What can be done about this? Not much, really, until corruption and dishonesty are kept in check. Online shopping, banking and document processing are probably years, if not decades away from reality, but doable.

The second is the so-called boundary or surcharge system among bus and jeepney operators. How does this contribute to traffic congestion? Simply, in the mad scramble for passengers because their earnings depend on the number of passengers they can get in a day’s driving, drivers stop and park anywhere, even in the middle of the roads, tying up traffic.

As an engineer, I always get into a solutions mode when I see problems and think of ways to improve on how things are done—I also had experience as an industrial process engineer. It would be extremely difficult—some would say even impossible—but nothing less than a comprehensive mass transportation overhaul would suffice, beginning with government ownership. First, jeepneys should be phased out from all major roads and highways and replaced with urban mass transit such as buses and trains. Second, employees of this government-owned transport system should be salaried, which means they get paid fixed monthly salaries that are even better than what they earn today with their hard work. Third, these buses and trains should be operated according to a fixed schedule, being dispatched with frequency based on the time of day. Fourth, all buses from outside Metro Manila should be allowed only at the fringes of the metro area. Fifth, designated bus stops should be strictly enforced.

What happens to all the jeepney drivers and barkers? They would be absorbed and retrained into the mass transport system as drivers, conductors, inspectors, dispatchers, mechanics, janitors, etc. Drivers should be retrained and reprogrammed so that discipline and obedience is hardwired into their brains. The traffic enforcers, in addition, should also be paid regular fixed salaries.

One other thing that seemed to work for the MRT and LRT trains is the seating configuration. The buses could also be configured in the same way, with seats only on the sides for women, elderly and the handicapped, so that the aisles are wide maximizing the density of passengers per square meter of road. There could even be segregation of women, elderly and the handicapped from the rest of the bus, as in the trains. There should be wide doors in the front, middle and back, so the time to load and unload is minimized.

I’m sure that there are many more improvements that mass transport experts can think of to untie the big traffic mess and lessen the misery of commuters.

The above may sound like a pipe dream, but would be a small start and would only work, obviously, if corruption is minimized. The transportation czar should run the system like a business for profit, but with rules and regulations strictly enforced throughout the system.

Now the big question is where to find that honest, incorruptible transportation czar.

If I may add, more than an honest and incorruptible official, what we need is someone who has the political will to implement the necessary changes to the system.

Thanks dvopilgrim for this.

Pinoybuzz: UP Jeepney Operator goes for Bio-Diesel made from used cooking oil

When Typhoon Ondoy submerged most of Metro Manila and so called citizen journalists started thumping their chests while shouting “Where I am from, everybody is a hero!” as they distributed relief goods, some of the people who were warning every one about climate change probably shook their heads.

The message they were spreading, apparently, hadn’t sunk in.

Global warming, climate change, and all the green jargon floating around in cyberspace apparently had flown above the heads of most people and continues to fly unimpeded.

Sure, there are are early adopters who will swear that they’ve made headway in getting their communities to adapt to climate change. But the dozens, hundreds, or few thousands who adopt climate change adaptation measures in the Philippines are probably still not enough to make a significant impact on the level of green house gases and other emissions that continue to drive our planet’s temperature higher.

Right now, climate change adaptation is one of those cool phrases that gets mouthed by some celebrity green advocate.  But what we really need to see is the ordinary Filipino man or woman living the climate change adaptation philosophy.

Within the small group of mountaineers and grassroots green advocates that comprises the Alliance for a Cleaner Earth (ACE), the guiding idea behind some of the projects we support are those that get Filipino communities engaged in practices that will help cut down green house gas emissions while providing them with a steady source of income.

One project that we are supporting is a massive cooking-oil-to-bio-diesel conversion project that has recently just been started up with the help of a UP Diliman Jeepney operator.

Ricky Cuenca, a good friend and compatriot, shares a welcome development in helping ordinary Filipinos to produce their own fuel from the used cooking oil they normally thrown down drains and gutters.

When we started the biodiesel project 17 mos ago, so many roadblocks had to be hurdled. It is now bearing fruit.

The Jollibee group will supply as much used cooking oil as we can pick up from all their corporate stores in the Philippines to start the project for their contribution to the lessening of the Air Pollution problems, environmental and health hazards at a fixed price per liter.

This allows us to compete with the Big 3 and the present pump price of diesel. We plan to lower it a little more so that there is no question on affordability.

The benefits are huge. At 20% blend, we lower CO2 and sulfur emissions by 15 and 30% respectively. If we increase the blend to a higher percentage the more we can lessen these pollutants. There are so many other benefits using Biodiesel but the important thing is we now have a foothold of supply, an ever growing market of Public Transport Groups that consume 4 billion liters of diesel every year in the Philippines.

The UP Coop is just the beginning, we have lined up groups of Jeep and transport Coops in the thousands.

We just want to take our steps one at a time so we do not fall flat on our faces.

Phase 1 UP Jeep Coop – 200 jeeps, 1200-1500 liters a day of Biodiesel. Hope we can get up to full speed by Earth Day Apr 22.

The hope is that when we get up to speed by April 22, the project can now be showcased during the visit of Former Vice President Al Gore to the Philippines on April 30

We will need your help in spreading the word, blogging about it.

Here are a couple videos of the cooking-oil-to-bio-diesel project in UP Diliman.

Here’s a jeepney driver talking about the cooking oil bio-diesel he just loaded in this jeep.

Now, for the most part, Pinoy Buzz has been battling other bloggers over a number of political issues — mainly over the fact that Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar are poor choices for the Presidency.

Recently, I’ve decided to lay off the online war over who is the better candidate and focus on supporting measures that will really make an impact on all of our lives.

After all, we can’t argue over politics under the sea.

Don’t Board That Ship

It really is disappointing to note that, despite its being an archipelago, the Philippines has no real shipbuilding industry to speak of. Even more disappointing is its maritime safety record.

Just yesterday, two ships sank in the waters off Zamboanga and Eastern Samar. Nine persons died in the sinking of Super Ferry Nine. It could have been worse as the ship was carrying more than 950 passengers. Two ships in one day. Are we gunning for another Guiness World Record? Seriously, the frequency of maritime disasters in this country is already more than just a cause for concern.

I’m pretty sure we have maritime laws. I am also sure these laws mandate some form of regulation by the government and strict compliance by shipping companies with some sort of safety standard. But, at the rate things are going, the Philippine government might as well ban itself from handling maritime concerns while local shipping companies may want to consider shifting to another line of business preferably something that doesn’t involve machinery and any motorized means of conveyance.

Of course, we can all be sure overloading and poor maintenance will come up again as the most likely reasons for these latest sea mishaps. Same old story.

In one of his recent posts, PinoyBuzz wrote that we should all just junk our assumptions that we can travel around the country safely. If we’re talking about boarding a ship that will travel in open waters I’d say forget it.

New PNR Trains; 4,000 Buses To Be Retired

Here are two transportation-related stories worth mentioning. First is the inauguration of the Philippine National Railways’ new trains totalling nine. The PNR says these will initially operate along the railway stretch from Caloocan to Sucat twice daily at 7 am and 5 pm. Second is the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s announcement that it is planning to retire 4,000 buses in Metro Manila.

I think these developments bode well for public transportation and traffic management at least in Metro Manila. The first shows that the modernization of the PNR’s railway system is moving. The PNR is reportedly expecting nine more trains.

I’m particularly interested in the LTFRB’s plan. Retiring 4,000 buses — hopefully the dilapidated and colorum ones — will definitely help ease the flow of traffic in Metro Manila especially along EDSA.

Unfortunately, there’s a negative side to this. Bus operators say this will leave thousands of people without jobs. Each bus has at least two personnel — the driver and fare collector. At 4,000 buses, that’s 8,000 people who will stand to lose their source of income. I’m sure the government will later say that projects to help those who will be affected are in the pipeline.  I just hope whatever action the government takes will not be the usual short-term fix.

Just this morning, I heard a radio commentary about this LTFRB plan. The radio announcer pointed out that the LTFRB grants bus franchises to operators with at least 100 buses. He added that the LTFRB also requires bus operators to have garages for their buses.

The announcer said many bus operators do not have garages.  He also pointed out that some operators do not even really own the required number of buses. They just rent out their franchises to other groups to complete the required number.

I am not aware if the LTFRB rules expressly state that renting out bus franchises is not allowed. If it is then the erring operators should be penalized accordingly. However, if it is not then the rules should be amended immediately.

Anyway, while listening to the commentary I couldn’t help but think that this franchise-for-rent scheme is ingenious. Whoever came up with the scheme sure know how to spot and take advantage of an opportunity. The way I see it, if the rules do not expressly say that that is not allowed then it is not the concerned company that should be faulted but the agency or the person who drafted the rules.

I think this should serve as an eyeopener to anyone who is involved in making rules, regulations and laws. To them I say: Accept the fact that people will exploit loopholes. Anticipate this and make sure the rules, regulations and laws that you craft are not too easy to circumvent. That is part of your job. If you cannot do that then you do not have any business handling such a task.

Kung bobo ka hanap ka na lang ibang trabaho.

Of Bicycle Taxis, Green Tricycles and the King of the Road

Montreal, Canada is hoping to reclaim its former title of cycling capital of North America. The city intends to do this with the launching of the continent’s largest public bicycle transportation system. Going by the name of Bixi, a portmanteau of the words bicycle and taxi, the system will have 3,000 bicycles, each of which could be rented for $78 for one year or $5 per day.

The bike system is expected to bring down vehicular emissions in the city. Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay says the system was launched because the city needed “concrete examples of change” in light of current environmental challenges.

The Philippines could benefit from such a system. In a previous post, Pinoy Buzz wrote about using pedal power to solve Metro Manila’s traffic problem. But beyond making traffic a non-issue, setting up a Bixi-like system in the Philippines will clearly provide a boost to ongoing efforts against climate change.

Speaking of ongoing efforts, the Quezon City local government has just come out with an ordinance that requires operators and owners of the city’s public conveyances to make their vehicles more eco-friendly. It specifically mandates conversion of these vehicles from fossil fuel to compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, bio-ethanol blended gasoline and other biofuels. The ordinance sets a compliance period of three years.

Covered by the ordinance are all tricycles for hire, public utility vehicles registered, owned and operated by Quezon City residents or organizations and all vehicles owned by the city government.

The good thing about the ordinance is that it also prescribes penalties against non-compliance. It stipulates penalties raning from revocation of permits to vehicle decommissioning for violators.

Kudos goes to city councilor Bernadette Herrera Dy for crafting the ordinance. I just have one complaint: Why set the compliance period at three years? It should have been shorter like maybe a year. Just my opinion.

In any case, this ordinance is a good start. Hopefully other cities and municipalities will come out with similar measures. Better yet why not have one that covers the whole country.

I would love to see a law requiring the “greening” of all public utility vehicles. I’m particularly interested in seeing a more environment-friendly version of the so-called “King of the Road” the jeepney.

By the way, I realized just now that Councilor Dy’s ordinance will not mean anything unless it is implemented properly. If not it will just go the way of the Clean Air Act and its provision on smoke-belching. All motorists and I mean all motorists in this part of the world know that the anti-smoke belching provision of the law continues to be violated to this day.

Incidentally, the Clean Air Act will be 10 years old next month.

Highway Robbery Along Commonwealth Avenue

I was on my way to the office today when the bus I was riding was stopped by a group of men along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. They were unarmed but you could immediately tell that they were up to no good.

True enough after that encounter the bus driver and conductor were P200 poorer. Sounds like highway robbery, doesn’t it?

The group we encountered was running an anti-smoke belching operation so they had every authority to flag us down. But instead of carrying out what they were mandated to do they turned their whole operation into a money-making scheme.

I know money changed hands because I saw it as it happened.  I was sitting at the front row and as I peered through the window I saw the bus conductor giving P200 to one of the team members.

It was quite a funny sight actually. The man who flagged us down was acting all indignant because the bus driver, who remained glued to his seat, refused to hand over his vehicle registration. So he went on to admonish the bus driver. But as he was delivering his sermon he was also stealthily reaching out for the conductor’s hand, which held two tightly folded P100 bills.

What a funny charade I thought. It was really funny I failed to stop myself from laughing and blurting out, “ayos na, merienda na.” The clown even heard what I said. As he walked away he flashed me a toothless smile not even his own mother would appreciate.

Now, I’m left wondering again if calls for personal change would even work on people like these.

The Root Cause Of Metro Manila’s Traffic Problem

The Metro Manila Development Authority deserves praise for doing its best to solve Metro Manila’s traffic problem. Of course, this is not to say that the MMDA has already succeeded. This is just an acknowledgment of the agency’s efforts.

What has the MMDA done so far? It has installed pink fences along major roads to designate assigned areas for private vehicles, public utility vehicles and even pedestrians. It has maintained the implementation of the number coding scheme. It has widened a number of roads. All these have proved to be effective in improving the flow of vehicles to some extent. I sincerely hope the MMDA comes out with an ultimate solution, although I seriously doubt that is possible.

Let’s also give some credit to the traffic enforcers of the various local government units. Their participation in traffic management also has some value.

Still, despite their combined efforts, Metro Manila traffic remains as chaotic as ever.

In my opinion, solving Metro Manila’s traffic problem requires more than just putting up fences, limiting the number of vehicles and building wider roads. I think the traffic problem would be best addressed with some serious legislation.

My appreciation of the traffic situation stems from having experienced moving around Metro Manila on board my own vehicle or any of the available public transportation such as the MRT, buses, FX taxis and jeepneys (I avoid riding regular taxis because I don’t like setting myself up to be robbed). Simply put, I am both a commuter and a motorist. In either case, my observation always ends with the conclusion that the root cause of the problem is the lack of discipline among PUV drivers.

Some may argue that many private motorists also lack discipline. That is true. But, as far as I’m concerned, the bigger blame for the problem goes to PUV drivers. It is my contention that many private motorists — and that includes me — are only forced to drive like undisciplined maniacs on the road because of the driving style of PUV drivers.

I did some experiments of my own to see if my hypothesis has any validity. One time while driving along Espana, Manila, I decided that I was going to stay on one lane from Welcome Rotonda all the way to Quiapo. No matter how hard I tried I always ended up switching to another lane for the simple reason that jeepneys and buses were swerving all around me, forcing me to swerve as well to avoid getting hit. I also found out that by keeping to one lane there is a big possibility that I will not make it to my destination on time because these PUV drivers have the habit of “parking” their vehicles just about anywhere they please.

As a commuter, I have also observed that PUV drivers are the most reckless of all motorists. Bus drivers are particularly notorious. They swerve and move in and out of lanes with impunity as if they were driving a Mini. No wonder accidents involving buses have become a daily occurence.

So there’s my claim. Undisciplined PUV drivers are the root cause of the traffic problem. I’m convinced that, if PUV drivers will just observe traffic rules and avoid swerving, hogging lanes, loading and unloading just about anywhere, most private motorists will find it easier to drive properly as well.

Another thing I observed that I think contributes to the problem is the selective enforcement of traffic rules and regulations. I’m sure other private motorists have noticed this as well. Traffic enforcers tend to give puv drivers more leeway. Take for instance swerving. If you regularly travel along Eliiptical Road in Quezon City you would have noticed that buses coming from Commonwealth Avenue make the approach to East Avenue starting from the innermost lanes of this particularly wide stretch of road. As such, these buses have to swerve and cross at least four lanes from across the Quezon Avenue entry point to the East Avenue exit point. Not a few accidents involving these buses have occured in this area alone. What is noticeable is that traffic enforcers manning that area don’t seem to mind these reckless drivers. What they normally concentrate on are the private motorists making the approach to the Quezon Avenue exit point. Ironically, their usual case against the private motorists they apprehend is swerving.

So what am I driving at? I contend that, for the most part, traffic enforcers are not helping at all in instilling discipline among PUV drivers. They really prefer apprehending private motorists. And, this is a fact that I can attest to because I have personally been in a situation where I was apprehended for getting stuck in the middle of an intersection while the driver of the jeepney ahead of me was allowed to go on his way without even an admonition. This selective enforcement will be discussed further in another post.

Going back to my issue against PUV drivers, I strongly believe the time is right to abandon any more attempts to discipline them. They will just continue violating traffic rules as long as their incomes are based on the number of passengers they pick up. I therefore propose a more drastic approach and this is where our lawmakers should come in. I suggest the following:

1. Pass legislation to ban jeepneys from major roads. Limit jeepney routes to the smaller inner roads.
2. Pass legislation to change the way PUV drivers are paid.
3. Pass legislation to support the development of a more organized bus transport system whereby buses are assigned specific loading and unloading bays.
4. Pass legislation for the development of a real Mass Transit System similar to those in Hong Kong, Singapore and other territories  lucky enough to have such a system.

I started this piece with a reference to the MMDA. I have a reason for that. I want to call attention to the fact that, while the MMDA’s projects have their merits, it is becoming painfully clear that those fences, u-turn slots, road widening projects etcetera etcetera are nothing more than a circumvention to avoid actually putting erring PUV drivers in their proper place.

At this point I would like to clarify that these are just suggestions. As with all my other posts here, this piece is just meant to start up a brainstorming session of sorts.  If you feel strongly about criticizing any of these suggestions go ahead just be sure to go about it in a constructive way.