UP Forum September - December 2014

VOLUME 15 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2014

FORUM

8 | A Place and the Case for UP and DOST's Monorail

4 | When the Road Becomes a Parking Lot: A Hard Look at Metro Manila’s Traffic

s h a p i n g m i n d s t h a t s h a p e t h e n a t i o nU N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

2 | The Dignity of Travel: The Cebu BRT Project

Transportation

Trust Pinoy wit to come up with the most appro-priate name for the nightmare of bumper-to-bum-

per traffic within the metro: Carmageddon.1 Monsoon rains, road repairs, accidents, annual holidays, even a single misbehaving private or public utility vehicle can turn our roads into a virtual parking lot, while lines of people waiting to catch a ride on the MRT-3 snake down all the way to the sidewalks, and crowds of commuters spill over onto the middle of the street.

The financial costs of traffic congestion are staggering—P2.4 billion today, and likely to increase

There is no better endorsement for a rail system in a congested city than the existing ones. The

amount of patronage the Light Rail Transit and the Metro Rail Transit are getting despite the long lines and system breakdowns attests to the lengths com-muters are willing to put up with just to get a traffic-free, automated ride toward their destinations.

For them there is hardly any alternative given the chaos of the whole public transport system, charac-terized by abusive bus, jeepney and taxi drivers and operators; lane preference given to private vehicles; inconsistent application of traffic laws; and increas-ing urban population and vehicular volume. These have caused worsening delays and unpredictability of arrival time. Predictability of transport is essen-

Complex urban transport problems warrant a con-tinuous search for solutions. The need for mobility

is a given in today’s cities where commute trips tend to become longer as a result of urban sprawl and the growing mismatch between residential and employ-ment locations which result in more trips made in terms of volume and distance. With a growing middle class whose tendency is to acquire and use private cars as the main mode of travel and the existence of low-quality public transport services, traffic congestion worsens with its attendant economic and environmental external-ities. As a result, the dignity of travel, which the author defines as the ability of people to travel using safe, reli-able, convenient, and affordable means without being judged by others, is lacking in many cities.

2 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 5 September-December 2014

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THE DIGNITY OF TRAVEL...continued from page 1

Cresencio M. Montalbo, Jr.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is fast becoming an important public transport option for developed and develop-ing cities. Its cost effectiveness, rail-competitive passenger capacity, shorter construction time, possibility to absorb some of the existing public transport workers, and its potential to effect public transport reform are among the BRT’s strengths. Others are its comple-mentarities with existing public trans-port systems, environmental benefits, and inherent versatility and flexibility which render it as a significant and viable mass transit option for today’s cities. Cebu City will be trailblazing the BRT by having the first such system.

What BRT isBRT or Bus Rapid Transit is a bus-

based mass transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective urban mobility. Through the provision of exclusive right-of-way lanes and excel-lence in customer service, BRT essential-ly emulates the performance and amenity characteristics of a modern rail-based system but at a fraction of the cost.

It has features that are typical of high-quality mass transit systems—exclusive right-of-way lanes, efficient boarding and alighting of passengers, pre-board fare collection and fare verification, comfortable and safe stations where the high-quality buses are only allowed to stop, a user-friendly information system, GPS for vehicle location and manage-ment, competitively bid concessions for bus operations, clean vehicle technolo-gies, and excellence in marketing and customer service. Establishing a BRT system also creates opportunities in instituting meaningful public transport reform since existing public transport services usually have to be modified to

synergize with BRT as a complementary mode such as feeders.

Warrants of BRT in the Philippines

Cities in developing countries such as the Philippines face the consequent challenges of urban transport that go along with development. These chal-lenges or externalities are traffic conges-tion, air pollution, rising transport costs, road safety, and other issues.

The recent JICA Roadmap for Mega Manila study estimates the daily cost of traffic congestion in Mega Manila (Metro Manila plus adjoining areas) at 2.5 billion pesos. Air quality also dete-riorates as a result of burned fuel which is aggravated by traffic congestion. Transport costs are erratic as shown by fluctuating fuel prices.

In addition, road safety is a constant issue especially for public transport vehicles whose drivers are wont to behave recklessly in order to maximize their take-home pay. The current busi-ness model of road-based urban public transport is one that has been around since time immemorial—that which pegs operator and driver income based on the number of passengers carried. Hence, drivers are always tempted to do anything to maximize their ridership, sometimes resulting in disastrous results.

Road-based public transport in the Philippines is in the hands of private operators who are guided by their own compartmentalized perspective of market demand and supply and funda-mentally driven by their profit motive as investors in the industry. Consequently, public transport provision is highly fragmented and there is practically no semblance of full systems operation and management, “systems’ referring to

the whole public transport system. As a result, there is erratic, inefficient, even unsafe provision of public transport, rendering captive passengers no choice but to take the low-quality services and the choice passengers the propensity to use their private cars. A high-qual-ity and system-atically organized and managed public transport system is there-fore warranted where operators will be paid based on the volume and quality of service provided as specified in service contracts and not based on the number of pas-sengers carried as has been the usual practice.

The Cebu City BRT

The Cebu BRT project is the first approved BRT project in the country. It is a project of the national govern-ment, using its own funds and a World Bank loan, spearheaded by the DOTC with the support of the DPWH other departments and the local government of Cebu City. It will open in 2017.

Typical Station LayoutPhoto from Cebu City BRT Facebook page photo album

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 5 September-December 2014 3

Artist's rendition entitled "Osmena Blvd Artists Impression."

THE DIGNITY OF TRAVEL...continued from page 2

TransCebu ( which is how the project is currently branded) is a mass transit system that will run between Barangay Bulacao in the south and Barangay Talamban in the north with a major passenger interchange terminal at Ayala Center. The southern segment (between Bulacao and Ayala Center) will have segregated infrastructure while the northern segment (between Ayala Cen-ter and Talamban) will have BRT buses running in mixed traffic but aided by priority signals at junctions. The system will also serve the emerging central business district of South Road Proper-ties or SRP. The project is considered as the first step in what will later evolve into a network that will serve not just Cebu City but also the surrounding cit-ies of what could be considered Metro

Cebu. A link to the Mactan Cebu International Airport is part of the future net-work.

The project also includes the following features:• A segregated busway be-tween Bulacao and Ayala Center• Stations and terminals along the segregated busway route• A depot for

the garaging of buses designated to operate as BRT services

• An Area Traffic Control (ATC) System to facilitate priority run

times within the corridor and give city wide benefits of improved traffic flow

• An open service plan that ensures that while infrastructure is limited to between Bulacao and Ayala, BRT services will operate beyond this that limit. In the case of Ayala Mall to Talamban bus passage will be facilitated by bus priority mea-sures where required and where achievable within the confines of the roadway.

• Traffic management measures to improve traffic flow outside of the corridor that are seen to comple-ment the BRT and maximize its impact

• Parking management measures that will similarly complement BRT and improve traffic flow

• Interchange improvements to offer enhancement to the level of service received by all public transport passengers irrespective of whether they use BRT or not

• Urban planning improvements con-sisting of public realm enhance-ments and enhanced integration of transport and land use.

The system is planned to serve a daily ridership of 330,000 passengers at open-ing year. Based on an understanding of people’s travel patterns, there are eight (8) route services that will minimize passengers’ need to transfer.

Managing PUJ sector impactsJeepneys will continue to play an

important role within the future public transport network. The diagram below shows how some jeepney services will act as ‘feeders’ to the BRT. This will significantly enhance people’s travel

opportunities and experiences.Some jeepneys will be displaced. It

is estimated that approximately 1,300 jeepneys will be affected. A companion study to the Feasibility Study has been undertaken after extensive discussions with the jeepney industry to understand how individuals and groups might be motivated to be involved in the delivery of BRT. A BRT operator, or operators, trained and capable of offering the re-quired service levels, will be required.. There is much international experience in the engagement of existing, informal, operators becoming active in the BRT operation.

Environmental and social benefits

The operation of the BRT is expected to have beneficial effects on the overall physical and social environment. BRT will allow faster and more efficient mass public travel and improved traf-fic flow. This should lead to improved productivity and clear economic gains for the city. Relieving traffic congestion and the potential reduction in private car use because of the availability of an attractive alternative will eventually improve air quality and reduce green-house gas emissions. People will be able to travel safely, conveniently, efficiently, and without the stigma of using public transport. BRT aims to give people the dignity of travel they deserve.--------------------Dr. Cresencio Montalbo is an associate professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning and a faculty fellow at the National Center for Transporta-tion Studies, Univesity of the Philip-pines. Email him at [email protected].

Initial Corridor and Future Network of the Trans Cebu

Photo by Integrated Transport Planning Ltd, via Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cebu_BRT_Potential_Network.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Cebu_BRT_Potential_Network.jpg


Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta

WHEN THE ROAD BECOMES A PARKING LOT...continued from page 1

to P6 billion a day by 2030 if the situ-ation is not addressed, according to a study done by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.2 to say nothing of the impact on the environment and general health of the populace, with Department of Environment and Natu-ral Resources Secretary Ramon Paje observing that 70 to 80 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila is caused by motor vehicles, and only 20-30 percent caused by emissions from industries and other stationary sources.3

Vehicles in the metro: Too many to manage?

Managing traffic congestion in the metro is a Sisyphean task for one sim-ple reason: Sheer numbers matter. Of the 7.690 million motorized vehicles registered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in 2013, 2.101 million of these ply the streets of Metro Manila.4 And while this number is rising at an average annual rate of 2.13 percent, and the number of commuters reaches well into the millions, space—partic-ularly road space—remains a limited resource.

The effect of having too many cars on the road can be seen in the decreas-ing effectivity of one traffic manage-ment scheme: the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), otherwise known as the number coding scheme, which was first implemented in 1995, modified through the years, and is still being enforced. In a study

assessing the effectivity of the UVVRP, Dr. Jose Regin Regidor of the UP Na-tional Center for Transportation Studies Urban and Regional Systems Analysis/Transportation and the Environment Group noted that people responded in three ways: they adjusted their travel time to avoid the hours the scheme is enforced, which resulted in traffic congestion during the non-enforcement hours; they shifted to public transport on the day their vehicles are “coded,” which was the desired response but did not quite catch on; or third, and least desirable of all, they bought new cars.

This phenomenon, Regidor observed, did not happen overnight. Instead, it started when some well-off people purchased new cars and discarded their old ones. These second-hand cars be-came available on the market, and were snapped up by people with smaller budgets, who in turn, sold their even older cars to others.

“Note that in this cycle, very few ve-hicles, if any, are actually retired, con-sidering this country has no retirement policy for old vehicles,” Regidor stated in his study. “The end result is that there are more cars on the roads and consequently, more severe and more frequent congestion is experienced.”

Even the number of motorcycles is rising, encouraged in no small way by motorcycle vendors.

“The competition today among distributors is intense,” noted Engr. Emilio Llavor, chief of the Planning

Dr. Jose Regin Regidor, UP National Center for Transportation Studies Urban and Regional Systems Analysis/Transportation and the Environment Group

continued on page 5

and Design Division and head of the Road Safety Unit of the Metropoli-tan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Traffic Engineering Center. “They’ve been offering a variety of schemes to make these affordable to motorists. The problem is, with those schemes, the volume of vehicles on the road is rising.”

MMDA Deputy Chairman Under-secretary Alex Ramon Cabanilla also points to a transport management de-

velopment policy that is primarily road-based instead of rail-based.

About two decades ago, “our population was around 9 million. Today, it has ballooned to 14 mil-lion. And that’s the night popula-tion. What about the day popula-tion, the ones who commute to work, who live outside [of Metro Manila]? That’s ballooning, too. So that’s the magnitude of traffic management you are facing.”

Cabanilla, an urban planner and a former UP School of Urban and Regional Planning associate pro-fessor, also cited land use, which is both a generator and attractor of traffic.

“The traffic problem in Metro Manila is a manifestation of inadequate or lack of sound urban planning. We make our residential communities so large. [We have] large tracts of residential lands, for example, in the Commonwealth area, and majority of [the resi-dents] work in Ortigas or Makati. So early in the morning, you can see the south-bound side of EDSA is heavily congested, but the north-bound side is not.” This is an indication that we have not man-aged our land-use planning well, nor have we done much by way of

zoning and development controls.

Taming the traffic monsterBy virtue of Republic Act No. 7924,

the MMDA is given the task of manag-ing Metro Manila’s traffic—specifi-cally, “the formulation, coordination and monitoring of policies, standards, programs and projects to rational-ize the existing transport operations, infrastructure requirements, the use of thoroughfares,” “the promotion of safe and convenient movement of persons and goods,” and the “implementation of all traffic enforcement operations, traffic engineering services and traffic education programs.”5

However, the MMDA does not work alone. Multiple agencies work togeth-er—ideally, at least. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is responsible for “the planning, de-sign, construction and maintenance of infrastructure, especially the national highways.”6 The LTO is in charge of the identification of routes, zones and areas of operations for public land services, the registration of land trans-portation facilities and vehicles, and the issuance of license to drivers and conductors.7 And the Land Transporta-tion Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is charged with regulating routes of service and zones operation of public land transportation, and issu-ing permits authorizing the operation of public land transportation services.8 In addition to these three agencies, local government units are also tasked with managing traffic in their own jurisdictions.

When it comes to managing traffic, the MMDA has not lacked for effort—from truck bans to U-turn schemes to organized bus routes to setting up alter-


Engr. Emilio M. Llavor, Chief of the Planning and Design Division Head, Road Safety Unit, MMDA, at his office, looking over his team's traffic computer simulations.


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nate routes to adding and removing unloading bays to the UVVRP—even to the notorious “wet rag” scheme for err-ing pedestrians some years ago. In another study conduct-ed with Dr. Noriel Christopher Tiglao of the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance, Regi-dor described some of the traffic management schemes implemented in Manila from the 1970s to the present, including traffic signal control systems, flow management schemes such as one-way systems and reversible lanes, toll discounts for the North and South Luzon Expressways, bus management schemes, and pedestrian-focused programs, such as overpasses, underpasses and discipline zones.

9These traffic management schemes have met with vary-ing levels of success at different points in time. But when faced with the daunting task of taming a monster like Metro Manila’s traffic, you need all the tools available at your disposal. And of course, a system in picking the tools you need.

Data-gathering: The first stepLlavor, who presides over several teams in a bustling of-

fice on the ground floor of the MMDA building in Orense, Makati, as well as another office on the second floor, described the process flow of assessing what kind of traffic management mechanism to install in a particular street or area.

“For us here, when we implement a traffic management scheme, we conduct studies,” he explained. “First of all, we do an assessment. We count the number of vehicles on the road.”

With a vehicle counter in hand, the data-gathering team from the MMDA Planning and Design Division heads out to the streets to do a vehicle count for the day, paying close attention to the time the volume of vehicles was taken, the time the traffic was heaviest, the peak hours, the level of congestion, etc. Ocular inspections are also conducted, aside from volume count. The team also does travel time surveys meant to measure how much time it takes a vehicle to reach the distance it travels. Another team, the road-inventory team, measures the dimensions of the roads.

The Road Safety Unit gathers data regarding accident “black spots,” or roads or locations wherein vehicular ac-cidents have occurred most frequently, collecting indi-vidual report forms for each accident from police stations and Traffic Enforcement Group district offices, as well as clippings of road traffic accident reports from news-

Photo from the MMDA official website gallery, http://www.mmda.gov.ph/index.php/27-gallery-2013/1287-implementation-of-60kph-speed-limit-at-commonwealth-to-dona-carmen-quezon-city-february-26-2013



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papers and tabloids. The information from these sources is entered into the Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS), an on-going database of fatal and non-fatal accidents and damage to property, including causes of accidents, and the time these accidents most often occur, in order to plot the areas where safety improvements need to be made. All this data-collecting is being conducted on a continuous basis.

“We have [vehicular] volume col-lections on the main thoroughfares,” Llavor said, enumerating the data contained in the MMDA’s databanks. “We have annual hours’ daily traffic in the entire Metro Manila—our counting is about 15 hours, from 7:00 to 10:00, so we convert it. We have a procedure wherein we convert this into 24 hours, so there is a multiplying factor. We are the ones who collect and conduct sur-veys throughout the entire Metro Ma-nila. We have data on vehicles of every kind—taxis, private vehicles, buses, trucks, motorcycles. How many turn left here, how many turn right there, how many go straight, how many make a U-turn—data as needed.”

“We also count the number of pe-destrians crossing a road,” he added. “Before we install footbridges, we see to it that that crossing is warranted,” because large numbers of pedestrians tend to block traffic flow. “We have all that data, because the Chairman is par-ticular about it. He wants everything he says supported by data.”

Installation/implementation: The second step

The data is then taken by the plan-ning team—“the team that gets to stay in the office while the rest hit the streets,” Llavor noted with a laugh—and through a computerized visual simulator, they simulate what would happen on a certain road if a traffic management scheme—say, a traffic light—is installed on it. “We run it on the computer first,” Llavor added. “Based on this, we see if the traffic scheme is warranted or unwarranted.”

Based on the analyses of the data, proposals on what kind of traffic scheme would work best in particular areas are formulated, then submitted to the MMDA chairman for final deci-sion. Proposed traffic schemes range from implementing a one-way traffic scheme, to installing a traffic light, to creating or removing U-turn slots, to assigning counter-flow lanes, to build-ing a loading and unloading bay for public utility vehicles, to implement-ing a one-truck lane policy for specific hours. (Constructing new features or adjustments on the road is a job for an-other team under Llavor’s supervision.)

Sometimes—in fact, ideally, as Cabanilla believes—many of these schemes would be implemented all at the same time.

Assessment and adjustment: The third step

Assessing the effectivity of a particular traffic scheme in relieving congestion in an area is also the job of Llavor’s division and teams. Effectiv-ity is usually assessed about a month after implementation. And the main indicator of effectivity?The travel-time survey.

“As much as possible, travel time should shorten, and travel-speed should increase. If we haven’t attained this, we will then investigate the grounds of the situation. We do assessments.”

If travel time surveys do reveal that the installed traffic scheme—say, again, a traffic light—has not done much good, what then?

“First, we are going to try as much as we can to make it effective. After all, we’ve already spent money on that, and those things cost millions,” Llavor said. “We will look first at the time adjustment. Or maybe we need to make some modifications on the intersection. Or we look for other options, such as setting the computerized traffic lights to manual in the mornings, and setting them back to automatic afterward.”

One size fits one, not allHere’s one thing people tend to for-

get: While it looks the same from the point of view of a frustrated driver or commuter, traffic is exceedingly vari-able. There can be no one-size-fits-all traffic scheme.

“The reason we can’t solve the traf-fic problem is because everybody’s an expert,” Regidor commented with dry humor in an interview. “When it comes to earthquakes, do you see a lot of people on Twitter and social media saying, ‘This should have been done here, that project should have been made’? For earthquakes, you let the experts from NIGS or PHIVOLCS or architectural engineers provide the expertise. But traffic, my God. Ask the man on the street, [and he’ll say,] ‘Oh no, you should do this. You should put a flyover there.’”

Part of the problem might be that traffic is all too common an experience, so people who observe that a certain traffic scheme worked in a certain place tend to assume that it would work somewhere else, which, Regidor said, is not a good thing.

Take U-turn slots, for example. They worked out well for Commonwealth Avenue, so U-turn slots were installed along Katipunan Avenue, Quezon Av-enue and others.

“They forgot that Commonwealth Avenue is very wide,” Regidor pointed out. “When your vehicle makes a U-turn, whether it’s a bus or a jeep, the island is wide enough to allow for a smooth turn. But in Quezon Avenue and Katipunan Avenue, the island is too narrow, so vehicles that make a U-turn take up a lot of space. So you put

concrete barriers—and what did these do? They constricted traffic, because instead of having four lanes, you only have two.”

There can be no one-size-fits-all piece of transportation infrastructure either because you have to match a particular road’s requirements. Even road-widening has its limits. “As far as the roads are concerned, they are fixed infrastructure. There are limitations on how they can be widened. In fact, the question is: Do you even need to widen them?” Regidor said.

“It’s situational,” Cabanilla said. “People like you, for instance, can inform the MMDA through our website or social media to look into these [traf-fic-ridden] roads. Or we ourselves go and check to see why these roads are congested. Theoretical or conceptual doesn’t do it. It needs to be situational. So by observation, inspection and feedback, we will arrive at a common observation that [a particular traffic

scheme] is no longer helping allevi-ate traffic but aggravating the traffic. That’s why we need help.”

When it comes to traffic manage-ment, there are simply too many factors to take into consideration. There are physical factors—the size of the roads, the land use of that par-ticular area, the volume of vehicles at particular hours. There are seasonal factors—certain annual holidays such as Christmas, All Souls’ Day, and the start and end of classes can aggravate traffic congestion. There are even cul-tural factors; as Regidor pointed out, cultural differences between countries, and even between cities and localities, will determine how effective one traffic scheme would be, rendering wholesale adoption of traffic schemes that worked in other places untenable.

And there are social and behavioral factors as well, which Regidor says affect the accuracy of any modeling


They are massive in scale. They breathe smoke and fire. They cause tremendous

amounts of inconvenience, not to mention great financial losses. They are consistently aggra-vating and occasionally directly life-threaten-ing. But the difference between dragons and traffic congestion is that one of them is all-too-real and much more complicated to deal with.

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Deputy Chairman Undersecretary and former UP School of Urban and Regional Planning associate professor Alex Ramon Q. Cabanilla put it another way: “Our traffic prob-lem is the product of years and years of benign neglect. It started out as something like a small wound, but now it has grown into a cancer. So when we have a problem of this magnitude, we need a combination of initiatives.”

In dealing with traffic congestion, Cabanilla, who has had decades of experience with the MMDA, mentioned four conditions that must be present for any kind of solution to be suc-cessful:

“[First], when you address the traffic problem in Metro Manila, you need the cooperation of the LTFRB, the LTO, and the LGUs working as one. The MMDA cannot do this alone. And you need a mechanism that would ensure cohesion [among the agencies], as well as a traffic man-agement plan. That’s the mechanism that will integrate the activities or initiatives to address traffic.


A Package Deal for Metro Traffic

MMDA Deputy Chairman Undersecretary Alex Ramon Cabanilla

“Second, you need the cooperation and par-ticipation of the public. If the public will not cooperate, even if these government agencies will work as a group, [the traffic management mechanism] will not be effective. And you can only solicit the cooperation of the public through a good information campaign.

“Third, you need to put in place a good monitoring system so that the intended objec-

tive can be measured so that on a day-to-day or on a monthly basis you are able to assess whether you are progressing according to your intended objective or not.

“Finally, you cannot solve the traf-fic problem by instituting one traffic management initiative. It should be a package [of initiatives ] that comple-ment one another in addressing the traffic problem.”

Cabanilla listed the traffic schemes and initiatives that have been and are still being used to address traffic congestion:

1. Colorum Reduction Program – The term “colorum vehicles,” according to Cabanilla, refers to public utility vehicles—jeepneys, buses and tricycles—that have no legal papers, such as, for example, buses that manufacture multiple copies of their vehicle registration plates. The Colorum Reduction Program would work to reduce the “kambal” prob-lem (one registration plate on multiple buses or taxis that ply different routes), the out-of-line problem (buses diverting from their official routes in search of passengers), and the cutting-trip

problem (similar to the out-of-line problem, but for jeepneys).

2. Traffic Flow Management Schemes – These include the U-turn slots rationalization scheme, the one-way scheme, reversible traffic lanes (taking up one lane on the opposite road to create a counter-flow that would ease the

congested road), vehicle coding programs, a high-capacity lane or priority lane (priority given to vehicles with more passengers, thus encouraging car pooling), and a congestion cost or cordon pricing (a form of disincentive in which you pay a certain fee for contributing to the congestion of a road or cordon).

3. Bus Management Schemes – These include bus segrega-tion lanes, organized bus routes (wherein the number of buses allowed on the road is enough for the number of passengers waiting for them, to avoid having near-empty buses plying the streets), rationalized bus unloading and loading areas, and designated provincial bus terminals .

4. Pedestrian-Focused Programs – These include the foot bridges rationalization program—such as the foot bridges former MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando had installed—and pedestrianization lanes, both of which would re-duce the number of accidents as well as allow the smoother flow of traffic without pedestrians blocking the way.

Schemes that encourage commuters to walk instead of ride—such as the network of footbridges inter-connecting buildings in Maka-ti—are also examples of such programs, and in fact, Cabanilla imagines a comfortable, air-con-ditioned footbridge spanning the length of Makati to Cubao, which would encourage more people to walk.

5. Truck Management Schemes – These include organized truck routes and specific times when trucks are banned from the streets.

6. Traffic Signal Control – Many of our traffic signal lights today do not come with sensors that automatically assess and detect congestion and adjust the tim-ing of the lights as needed. As of now, in many areas where there is no traffic enforcer to manually adjust the signal light timer, grid-locks result. However, Cabanilla said that insufficient budgets are a limitation.

7. Car Management Program – This could include car-pooling schemes.

8. Jeepney Management Program – Cabanilla believes that it would be best to limit jeepneys to feeder roads only, while high-capacity public utility vehicles

continued on page 7


Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc

A PLACE AND THE CASE FOR UP AND DOST'S MONORAIL...continued from page 1

tial in meeting quotas and completing work hours. Tardiness is costly in the city.

The current systems have also proven expensive to build and to main-tain, requiring humongous amounts of government subsidy. Foreign tech-nology is not cheap. Parts and even maintenance have to be imported. With a government unwilling to continue shouldering the costs, these systems might prove too expensive for the rid-ing public.

Monorail systems have additional criticism. Architect Paulo Alcazaren, a renowned consultant for landscape ar-chitecture, environmental planning and impact assessment, has been quoted as saying there are only few of them in the world that turn a profit.

It appears then that engineers in transport research and development have their work cut out for them: Develop our own light rail system and bring down its costs for it to be fea-sible without or with less government subsidy.

The Automated Guideway Transit System research and development project was born of this scenario, with the Department of Science and Technology and the University of the Philippines as the project leaders. The specific offices involved in the techni-cal aspect of the project implementa-tion are the DOST Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), UP Diliman National Cen-

ter for Transportation Studies (NCTS), College of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering, Geodetic Engineering) and the College of Science (National Institute of Geological Sciences).

With the tracks 6.5 meters above the ground, it is the first all-Philippine elevated rail transit. "All-Philippine" means its technology and materials are all sourced locally; they are thus cheaper, according to UP and DOST.

The test site is the UP Diliman campus, where the first pillars of the 500-meter tracks began construction in 2012. During the "monorail's" first publicized trip in November of the same year, DOST Secretary Mario Montejo emphasized that the technol-ogy was "five times less the cost" than imported technology and the equip-ment.

Aside from this, the AGT has less fossil fuel requirement and does not emit hazardous smoke because it runs on electricity. It is designed to be envi-ronment friendly.

In April 2013, President Benigno Aquino himself gave the AGT a test-ride. He found it a little bumpy and suggested it be tweaked to remedy this.

The feedback has been noted. A team from the UP College of Engineer-ing and NCTS has been conducting evaluations. The tests follow a number of stages concerned with structural integrity of the elevated railway, power supply reliability, automatic safety system, car reliability and safety, etc.

They are studying if a full-scale AGT loop is viable. A feasibility assessment is needed for the planned track route extension to Katipunan Avenue and Philcoa.

The AGT prototype, which runs on rubber wheels along a concrete rail, is undergoing performance testing.

At the same time, the project team has been developing its own design of ticketing stations and boarding plat-forms, and conducting track-passenger flow simulation.

Montejo said various LGUs had expressed interest in the project. The technology is suitable in complement-ing the existing main rail systems traversing LGUs. In countries such as Singapore, the main lines are fed by smaller elevated rail systems that serve the suburbs. These feeder lines resemble the units being tested in the UP Diliman tracks, which comprise two back-to-back fully air-conditioned 30-seater coaches.

DOST Assistant Secretary Raymund Liboro said the new mass transport system might be adopted in emerging urban areas apart from Metro Manila. “[It] is a practical system for urbanized LGUs [local government units] dream-ing of a train system,” Liboro said.

According to an Inquirer news report, Cebu is interested in adopting the system, with Cebu City Mayor Mi-chael Rama ordering City Hall officials to look into an alternative transport system to the bus rapid system. The

A PACKAGE DEAL FOR METRO TRAFFIC...continued from page 7

such as buses would ply major thoroughfares.

9. Utility Vehicles Management Program – An example of a util-ity vehicle would be fuel tankers, which pose a certain risk due to their flammable contents.

10. Sidewalk Management Pro-gram – This would allow pedes-trians to use sidewalks instead of streets. This means sidewalks should be cleared of sidewalk vendors, makeshift stalls, illegal billboards and signage, and il-legal extensions of structures and establishments.

11. Mass Transit System Improve-ment – This aims to encourage commuters to take the LRT/MRT instead of private vehicles that would only add to the conges-tion, thus shifting development in the metro from a road-based to a rail-based thrust. Mass transit system improvement would in-clude increasing the frequency of trips, adding more train coaches, and installing additional Auto-mated Fare Collection Systems (AFCS) gates at entrances and exits to prevent long lines of waiting passengers, and pro-viding safe parking areas with

reasonable parking fees for LRT/MRT commuters, where they can simply park their cars for the day and ride the LRT to work.

12. Strict Implementation of Traffic Rules and Ordinances – Caba-nilla noted that this is one of the MMDA’s main challenges. Ide-ally, there would be strict imple-mentation of rules such as “no parking” and “no loading/unload-ing” areas, so that public utility vehicles would load and unload their vehicles only in properly designated places and positions. This also includes maintaining traffic enforcer visibility to serve as an incentive for drivers to fol-low traffic rules and regulations.

13. Limiting Public Transporta-tion Allowed on Thoroughfares – This means tricycles, kuligligs, pedicabs and pushcarts would be banned from using major thor-oughfares.

14. Mass Education/Information System and Awareness Programs – This is intended to educate the populace—commuters, drivers of public and private vehicles, and ordinary citizens—on the need for road courtesy and discipline, with different ordinances for the

improvement of traffic. Road courtesy and discipline would be taught in schools and in seminars for frequent traffic rule violators, with awareness campaigns con-ducted through the media.

However, each of these initiatives, if taken alone, would not be enough to solve our traffic problem. “You cannot implement these one at a time,” Cabanilla stressed. “It should be all of these, implemented as a package. All at the same time. If a person with an illness comes to you, you cannot just give him an aspirin. You have to provide him all the pos-sible medications and treatments to have a significant impact.”

Add to that the professionaliza-tion of the MMDA staff, particularly the middle management; raising the salaries of MMDA employees, espe-cially those below minimum wage; and putting a person with technical expertise as well as political clout at the head of the agency, and Cabanilla is optimistic that we can lick our monstrous traffic problem within five years, or even three. “It has to be a package deal. This way, we can solve traffic.”--------------------Email the author at [email protected].


mayor is said to be convinced of the suitability of the AGT system to Cebu City.

Rama had reportedly asked City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board chairman Ruben Almendras and Citom head Rafael Yap to request DOST to bring the prototype to Cebu City. “The good thing is that Cebu is capable of producing that coach,” he said.

The AGT require less space and the mayor thinks it can easily be maneuvered in the city’s minor thor-oughfares.

Rama's case shows how important it is to convince investors that the AGT is the real deal. Marketing is needed both in the supply and demand side. Proper investment is needed to supply the demand for it and make production cost-efficient. As Alcaza-ren said, unless DOST gets serious investors to put up actual factories and does more research and development, the AGT project may remain just "an academic exercise."

The AGT prototype must prove itself worthy. And this is why R&D must continue.--------------------Email the author at [email protected].

done on traffic, since some of the data is likely to be approximations at best. “If the data is bad, the simulation can be damaging. You have to take care in collecting the data that you put in the model.” Ultimately, traffic is “a choice problem”; the simple act of traveling from UP Diliman to Trinoma or SM is already riddled with a myriad individu-al choices and environmental variables.

In fact, for Llavor, it’s not the tech-nology or infrastructure that makes traffic such a monster to manage—it’s people and their unlimited creativity and determination in skirting traffic rules and regulations. He related how some people got around the traffic management scheme of car-pooling wherein only cars with at least three to four passengers will be allowed on the road—by dressing up mannequins and placing them in the backseat of the car.

The not-so-secret weaponsHowever, Llavor, Regidor and Ca-

banilla agree that things can be vastly different. One need only travel 136.8 kilometers from Metro Manila to Subic to see the difference. The critical ingre-dient? Strict and proper enforcement of traffic rules.

Indeed, according to Regidor, the regulatory aspect of traffic manage-ment is part and parcel of the traffic


NOTES:1 Patawaran, AA. (2014, May 4). Countdown

to Carmageddon. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/countdown-to-carmageddon/

2 Japan International Cooperation Agency. (2014, September 2). JICA transport study lists strategies for congestion-free MM by 2030. Retrieved from http://www.jica.go.jp/philippine/english/office/topics/news/140902.html

3 Editorial: Metro Manila's air pollution. (2014, October 1). Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/editorial-metro-manilas-air-pollution/

4 Department of Transportation & Communications Land Transportation Office. (2014, January 23). Annual report 2013. Retrieved from http://www.lto.gov.ph/component/jdownloads/finish/9/198?Itemid=s0

5 Office of the President Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.(n.d.).Rules and regulations implementing RA 7924. Retrieved from http://www.mmda.gov.ph/index.php/12-legal-matters/118-irr-of-ra-7924

6 Executive Order No. 124, s. 1987. (1987, January 30). Official Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.gov.ph/1987/01/30/executive-order-no-124-s-1987/

7 Department of Transportation and Communication. (2014, September 16). Executive Order No. 125-A. Retrieved from http://www.dotc.gov.ph/index.php/component/k2/item/7-executive-order-no-125-a

8 Department of Transportation and Communications Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.(n.d.).LTFRB functions. Retrieved from http://ltfrb.gov.ph/main/aboutus

9 Regidor, Jose Regin F., &Tiglao, Noriel Christopher C. (2007, June 14). Alternative solutions to traffic problems: Metro Manila in retrospect. UP National Center for Transportation Studies. Retrieved from http://ncts.upd.edu.ph/old/research/docs/research/papers/jrfregidor20070614-WCTR.pdf

10 Larano, Cris. (2014, June 3). Philippines bets on better infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/06/03/philippines-bets-on-better-infrastructure/

management infrastructure. And of course this includes the policies that must be put in place in accordance with the vision of what we want for our city or locality.

“You cannot have infrastructure without the basic traffic rules and regulations. So you actually have an ef-fective system,” he said. “The question is: Are we implementing that properly? Even if your system is good concep-tually, without proper enforcement, there’s nothing you can do.”

And when even in the UP campus, we do not abide by our traffic rules—or are even aware of the traffic signs set up around the campus—how can we expect to see traffic discipline on a wider scale?

When asked if there is one magic bullet that would solve Metro Manila’s traffic woes, Llavor does not hesitate: “The magic bullet is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.”

And to this, Cabanilla and Regidor agree. Hence, the development of mass transportation—railways, buses and the like—is crucial. “Mass transport is able to carry more people, so it’s more fuel efficient in terms of number of people transported. The higher the capacity of your vehicle, the more efficient you are,” said Regidor.

“If you want us to be competitive as a city, we have to develop our railways. We have to have a mass transit sys-tem,” Cabanilla said. “Instead of using cars, we all ride the LRT. We make it convenient, not how it is right now, where we’re all packed like sardines. We would solve traffic congestion. We would also solve pollution.”

With the government announcing plans to bolster spending on several major public infrastructure projects, in-cluding a $325-million contract for the operation and maintenance of Manila’s electric train systems, the six-lane, NLSEX-SLEC connector road, and a new $10-billion Manila international airport10—projects, Regidor pointed out, that have been up in the air for quite a long time now—it remains to be seen what impact these can make on Metro Manila’s traffic and transit problem.

In the meantime, Llavor and his teams will keep on doing their jobs—installing traffic lights where needed, as well as CCTV cameras to improve traffic moni-toring, continuing traffic management and supervision, and keeping in contact with the public through the MMDA’s 24-hour hotline via 126.

And to the citizens of Metro Manila, he urged: “Let us all help one another.”--------------------Email the author at [email protected].

Photo from the UPSIO


16th Congress Passes Three Transport LawsJo. Florendo B. Lontoc

Three laws involving the transport sector have been passed by the 16th Congress.

The most recent one was The Philip-pine Lemon Law of 2014 or An Act Strengthening Consumer Protection in the Purchase of Brand New Motor Ve-hicles and for Other Purposes, signed by the President on July 15, 2014.

This bill seeks to protect the rights of consumers who purchase motor vehicles against business and trade practices which are "deceptive, unfair or otherwise inimical to consumers and the public interest."

The law provides a 12-month period after the date of the delivery of a brand new motor vehicle to a consumer or the first 20,000 kilometers of operation after such delivery, within which the consumer can report any nonconformity to the stan-dards and specifications of the manufac-turer, authorized distributor, authorized

Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo

Most Filipinos are familiar with the term "colorum"—slang for illegal pub-lic land transport in the country.

For the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and its two agencies, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transporta-tion Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the term "colorum" refers to a franchise violation according to five criteria.

Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01 issued by the DOTC on 2 June 2014 states that if a private motor ve-hicle operates as a public utility vehicle (PUV) without proper authority from the LTFRB, it is operating as a colorum vehicle.

But a public utility vehicle (PUV) can also commit a "colorum violation" if it operates "outside its approved route or area without prior permit from the [LTFRB]" or if it operates "outside the exceptions provided under existing memorandum circulars."

continued on page 11

dealer or retailer.It is the duty of the manufacturer,

distributor, authorized dealer or retailer to attend to the complaints, make the neces-sary repairs, or take other actions such as replacing the unit or returning the pay-ment with collateral charges. They are also obligated to compensate the buyer for the non-use of the vehicle while it is under repair and during the period of availment of the Lemon Law rights, through a daily transportation allowance.

The primary mediator in any such dispute is the Department of Trade and Industry.

On June 16, 2014, the Philippine National Railways Law of 2014, or An Act Extending the Corporate Life of the Philippine National Railways for Another Fifty Years, Further Amending for this Purpose Republic Act No. 4156, Entitled "An Act Creating the Philippine National Railways, Prescribing its Powers, Func-

tions and Duties, and Providing for the Necessary Funds for its Operations," as amended, was also signed into law.

This law comes in the wake of calls for the development of a national rail-way system through a national railway authority and proposals to privatize the Philippine National Railways (PNR). The PNR's charter was set to expire on June 20, 2014 or 50 years after its estab-lishment in 1964. The republic act allows the government corporation to continue being the lead government institution in mass rail transit and to pursue its mod-ernization.

On March 13, 2014, the President signed the Maritime Industry Authority Law of 2014 or An Act Establishing the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) as the Single Maritime Administration Responsible for the Implementation and Enforcement of the International Convention on the Standards of Train-

ing, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers [STCW], as Amended, and International Agreements or Covenants Related Thereto.

The law declares a state policy of cre-ating a "single maritime administrative system and structure that shall provide an enabling environment for the business of Philippine seafaring; establish appropri-ate institutional arrangements with other agencies of government; and create an effective regulatory framework condu-cive to the efficiency, transparency and competitiveness of the Philippine seafar-ing industry consistent with the STCW Convention."

Through the law, MARINA "assume[s] all powers and functions of the Professional Regulation Commis-sion (PRC), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Educa-tion, and Skills Development Authority

It is also a colorum violation for a PUV to operate differently from its "authorized denomination." When a PUV is authorized to operate as a school service vehicle, for example, it must only be used as such. It cannot be used to convey passengers like a UV express, or what is commonly referred to as "FX."

When a PUV continues to oper-ate even when its certificate of public convenience (CPC) is suspended or cancelled and the order of suspension or cancellation is executory, it is also committing a colorum violation.

A PUV operating with an expired CPC without a pending application for extension of validity "timely filed" before the LTFRB is also committing a colorum offense.

There are currently ten classifica-tions of land transportation services that should apply for franchise at the LTFRB: public utility bus, mini bus, public utility jeep, taxi, UV express,

tourist transport, shuttle transport, fil cab, school transport, and truck for hire.

Multiplying everywhere"Colorum vehicles hide behind the

color of authority," said Atty. Mary Ann Salada in an interview with the UP Forum. She is the public informa-tion officer at the LTFRB Office of the Chairman.

Explaining further, Salada illustrated how PUVs with proper permits "give birth" to illegal units. "A taxi operator with a CPC for two units, for example, would later on acquire more units but no longer apply for proper authority for the operation of the additional units. That's how some of these colorum PUVs misuse the franchise granted by the LTFRB."

Salada's post at the agency has al-lowed her to observe that there is a misconception about land transporta-tion "being a lucrative field." She sees

this misconception as one of the rea-sons for the proliferation of colorum-vehicles in the country. "On the side of operators and drivers, the reason is really financial. They think they will earn a lot if they go into the transporta-tion business."

Another reason for the continued increase in the number of colorum vehicles plying the streets is the rid-ing public. With the growing number of commuters and their willingness to take illegal public land transport, operators are encouraged to add more colorum vehicles to the streets.

"When it comes to public transport, a commuter is concerned with only two things: availability and convenience. Most of the riding public don't really care if the taxi, jeep, bus, van, or FX they are getting on is legally allowed to operate. What's important is they get to their office on time or they get a ride home immediately. And we can't really


The LTFRB on the Colorum Phenomenon

Photos from W

ikicomm

ons


Atty. Mary Ann Salada, Public Information Officer, LTFRB Office of the Chairman

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino and his agents flagging down colorum taxis and buses.

16TH CONGRESS...continued from page 10(TESDA), the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Telecom-munications Commis-sion (NTC) relative to

the issuance, validation, verification, correction, revocation or cancellation of certificates of competency, endorsement, proficiency and documentary evidence required of all seafarers and all such other matters pertaining to the implementation of the STCW Convention."

The 16th Congress also passed two other transport-related bills on third and final reading:

1. The Anti-Distracted Driving Act or An Act Defining and Penal-izing Distracted Driving, which was passed on June 9, 2014 by the House of Representatives.

2. An Act Providing Measures to Ensure the Safety of Children Aboard Motorcycles, passed on June 10, 2014 also by the House of Representatives.

These five legislative measures were among the almost 300 House and Senate

bills directly affecting transportation introduced during the 16th Congress. Senators and congressmen introduced a total of 7,438 bills during this time, mak-ing transportation-related bills only a tiny fraction, just four percent, of the total number of bills filed.

Based on Senate and House of Rep-resentatives records published in their websites, only 13 Republic Acts were passed during the 16th Congress, with the three republic acts on transportation constituting a quarter of the total number of laws passed. The other new laws are the General Appropriations Act and the Supplemental Budget, new laws on the citizenship of Andray Blatche, the estab-lishment of the Cotabato Light and Power Company, free mobile disaster alerts, an anti-drugs campaign, the postponement of the Sanggunian Kabataan elections, operation of foreign banks, graphic health warnings, and Go Negosyo.

Other transportation-related bills still have a long way to go before they can be approved and elevated outside their respective Houses.

In the Senate, there is a Magna Carta for the road transportation sector filed by Senator Ralph Recto; a bill of rights of taxi and airline passengers by Senators Grace Poe, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, and JV Ejercito; and a proposed national

transport safety board by Poe, in addition to pedestrian safety enhancement, road safety, highway safety, and maritime safety bills introduced by Defensor-Santiago, Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Antonio Trillanes, and Serge Osmeña.

Bicycle commuters incentives acts have also been filed by Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Bongbong Marcos, and Chiz Escudero, while a mandatory drivers education for common carriers bill has been proposed by Senators Defensor-Santiago, Trillanes, and Revilla Jr.

A single traffic ticketing bill has been submitted by Senator JV Ejercito, and pilotage services at harbors, also by Ejercito together with Teofisto Guingona III and Trillanes.

The controversial "No Motorcycle Backrider Act" of Senator Vicente Sotto III passed on first reading and is pending in the Public Services committee.

Recto is calling for a special mass transit system support fund. Senators Pia Cayetano and Cynthia Villar have submitted a Sustainable Transportation bill, whileTrillanes has a bill mandating the creation of a Department of Maritime Affairs and a National Land Transporta-tion Authority.

There are counterpart bills at the Low-er House. There are also common calls for the installation of electronic speed limiters and CCTVs and the regulation of school buses. There is a common call for

the development of scenic byways; and the imposition of a motor vehicle user's charge.

In the House of Representatives, there is a call for a Road Development Authority and a Transportation Security Authority. There is a bill seeking tougher penalties against polluters of navigable waters. Bills have also been filed endors-ing carpark regulation, free parking and use of rest rooms at stations and stops. Some bills want the use of sidewalks regulated.

A congressman has filed a bill regu-lating habal-habal and giving local governments the authority to grant them franchises. Another calls for the regula-tion of the activities of taxi drivers and operators. Another prescribes a formula for calculating seat space in jeepneys, and another, the registration of motor-cycle helmets at the Land Transportation Office.

The convening of the 16th Congress was followed by the 2013 Senate elec-tions, which replaced half of the Senate membership, and the 2013 House of Representatives elections which elected the entire membership of the House of Representatives.--------------------Email the author at [email protected].

THE COLORUM PHENOMENON...continued from page 10blame them," Salada said.

Commuters do not really report colo-rum violations. Unfortunately, Salada noted that commuters only file com-plaints at the LTFRB when something bad happens to them.

By the numbers: Law-abiding vs. violators

As of October 2014, the LTFRB has granted 270,834 franchises to 375,164 units nationwide. And they are not granting any more—unless new applicants have ve-hicles that use alternative fuel or electricity and "unless ordered by

the DOTC."

Sadly, the LTFRB has no data on the number of colorum vehicles operating in the country. The agency did provide the UP Forum with information on violators apprehended during the joint anti-colorum operation it has been conducting with the LTO.

According to the LTFRB, between 19 June 2014 and 12 January 2015, 74 out of 246 apprehended vehicles com-mitted colorum violations. Some of these colorum violations were on top of other offenses such as driving with an expired driver's license, tampered license plate, defective brake lights, no headlights, out of line or wrong route,

absence of "no smoking" and "PWD" signs, etc.

Present action, future plansSalada happily reported that the

LTFRB has just received the funds that will enable it to hire 145 inspectors across the country.

These inspectors will make sure franchise owners comply with all the requirements for operation—proper

documents, proper body markings, authorized and courteous licensed drivers, units with working parts and accessories, appropriate fare charges and discounts, visible fare matrix and persons with disabilities sign, and other franchise conditions.

Additional inspectors will strengthen LTFRB's capacity to go after viola-tors. Salada told the UP Forum that the agency's main office currently has only around 20 personnel to monitor and

inspect franchise holders while each regional office has between two to four. While 145 might seem like a small addition, it is still a welcome develop-ment, she said.

Asked for an update on the P50-million anti-colorum campaign of the DOTC reported in the last quarter of 2013, Salada said the project is still at the department level and has not gone down to LTFRB yet.

She also shared some of the agency's plans—stricter implementation of phasing out buses 15 years and older and the conduct of a study on the speed of provincial buses in cooperation with the UP National Center for Transpor-tation Studies and the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute.

As of this writing, the DOTC has released yellow plates for PUVs. These


The LTFRB on the Colorum Phenomenon

Sources:Senate and House of Representatives Bills

Archives

Photo from the M

MD

A official website gallery, http://www.mm

da.gov.ph/index.php/27-gallery-2013/1286-anti-colorum

-operations-munoz-balintawak-edsa-quezon-city-august-1-2013


THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONON TRANSPORTATION

Q.Grace L. PoeSenatorRepublic of the Philippines

Discipline is the most potent weapon. It should be a prior-ity in the minds of commuters, drivers, car owners and

those who drive motor vehicles not just on EDSA but else-where. Unfortunately, discipline is something that cannot be legislated but only earnestly encouraged, promoted and displayed.

The following should also be encouraged:a. Funding mass transit requirements of the country. It means

fast-tracking the expansion of MRT and LRT, funding the up-grading of PNR, and the competent maintenance of the transport system.

b. Implementing our existing laws seriously. While it can be considered as declaratory mandates, its honest-to-goodness implementation would mean handling problems like that of EDSA:• In our Law on Common Carriers, “a common carrier owes its passengers

the highest duty of care consistent with the practical operation of its con-veyances.”

• Article 1733 of Republic Act No. 386 or the Civil Code of the Philippines states that “Common carriers, from the nature of their business and for reasons of public policy, are bound to observe extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods and for the safety of the passengers trans-ported by them, according to all the circumstances of each case.”

• Article 1755 of the Civil Code also states that “A common carrier is bound to carry the passengers safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of very cautious persons, with due regard for all the circumstances.”

c. Advocating commuters’ safety and protection. d. Creating an efficient and effective regulatory system that would handle

speedy disposition of transport cases and simplifying claim procedure.e. Reviewing the utilization of the Road Users Tax, also known as the Mo-

tor Vehicle Users Charge, as specific purposes for its use are mandated under Republic Act No. 8794 enacted in June 2000. Simply, the fund should be utilized to improve our road system.

Again, there is a need to strengthen our mass transit system and enact a Land Use policy following the rules on zoning including providing ways to improve inter-city and intra-city connections for commuters.

EDSA’s problems are reflections of broader social issues. This 23-kilometer stretch showcases the worst of so-

cial inequality in Philippine society. It traverses residential enclaves that are home to the Philippines’ richest families and cuts across slum communities that have borne the brunt of demolition, contractualization and massive unemployment. EDSA is witness to the glitziest luxury vehicles as well as the daily struggle of commuters. The billboards along the high-way give visibility to the newest products and services—the kind that the Philippines’ daily wage earners cannot afford.

They say EDSA’s traffic is the greatest equalizer. I beg to differ. EDSA is experienced differently depending on one’s status in life.

A sociological perspective cannot simplify EDSA’s prob-lems to issues of traffic congestion and poor urban plan-ning. Instead, a comprehensive cure to the capital’s biggest headache has to be linked to broader patterns of urban exclu-sion and inequality. Traffic czars can come up with the most sophisticated traffic monitoring system and a comprehensive flood control program but these will not transform the qual-

Nicole Curato, PhDPostdoctoral Fellow, Center for Deliberative Democ-

racy and Global GovernanceInstitute for Governance and Policy AnalysisUniversity of Canberra

--------------------Sen. Grace Poe took up AB in Development Studies in UP before she transferred to Boston College in Massachusetts where she earned her BA in Political Science. Email her at [email protected].

ity of life in the megacity as long as EDSA is built and governed from the perspective of the car-owning elite. As one expert puts it, we have to stop seeing EDSA from behind a windshield. We have to see it from the perspective of the pedestrian.

A reasonable recourse to solv-ing EDSA is to do it the democratic way—through an inclusive process of participatory planning, implemen-tation, monitoring and evaluation. Without this process, EDSA will continue to be a segregated space where cars are king—investments will be poured into the construction of elevated roads where private ve-hicles can bypass the traffic among public utility vehicles while keeping the uncomfortable sights of urban



Q.THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

ON TRANSPORTATION

How do you solve a problem like EDSA?

poverty below and out of sight. Participatory planning gives the

elite and ordinary citizens the op-portunity to engage in a collabora-tive discussion, where each stake-holder can level off and lay claim to their “right to the city.” Numerous places both in the Philippines and overseas have benefited from this approach. By bringing stakeholders from different walks of life together, citizens can engage in a process of co-governance by identifying visions, priorities and develop-ment strategies in our shared public space.

A citizen-centric solution to EDSA allows us to transform this space from one that promotes displace-

ment of the poor to one that ensures that the benefits of urban renovation are shared by all. Participatory ur-ban development generates practical knowledge on how people use their cities—from knowing where they live, work and go for leisure—and use such knowledge to make public spaces like roads an empowering space for citizens.

This is not a pipe dream but an existing reality. This is the case in formerly grimy and unsafe cities like Bogota, where universities have taken the lead in building partnerships with property own-ers, residents and voluntary asso-ciations. The result is a city where low-income housing is in central

districts (instead of relocating them in far-flung areas), allowing the most vulnerable sectors of society to have access to public services and workplaces. The decision to place affordable housing at the center of Bogota came at the expense of profit-driven residential complexes, but the security of tenure afforded to marginalised sectors allowed them to become dignified, productive members of society and to develop an ethos of stewardship of the city. Moreover, it reduced the segregation or class divide between the north and south of Bogota, as the city has become the space where citizens, regardless of social status, meet and engage.

Like building a nation, EDSA is a collective project. It is a space of frustration but also a space for collective action. We have ousted presidents and restored electoral de-mocracy in this highway. The bigger challenge for us today is to transform this space to uphold urban justice and restore dignity in the city.--------------------Note: This piece is based on the au-thor’s segment in the documentary produced by 9News entitled EDSA: The Full Story.Dr. Nicole Curato holds a PhD in

Sociology from the University of Birmingham. She obtained her BS in Sociology from UP. Email her at [email protected].

RTD: CURATO...continued from page 12

Photo from Wikicommons


Women in Transit


Two female nursing students hang on for dear life at the back of a jeep. This photo, taken by Marvin Sy and uploaded last October 15, 2014 in Top Gear Philippines' Facebook page, bore the caption: "Is chivalry dead? We really hope there was not a single male passenger inside that jeepney." The photo has gone viral since, and sparked a discussion on gender equality and whether or not chivalry is required.

Metro Manila has an actual population of 11,855,9751 of

which 51 percent are women and 49 percent men.2 About 52.2 percent are women 15 years old and over, some of whom—43.3 percent—belong to the labor force, while 68.4 percent do not.3 Their travel demands and patterns are influenced by their employment, education and care responsibilities.4 Accessibility and availability of land public transport is significant in the lives of these women.

The main mode of travel in the National Capital Region is cars with 6,170 units or 31.7 percent, jeepneys

with 7,620 units or 39.1 percent, buses with 5,680 units or 29.2 percent, and a sub-total for public transport (jeepney and bus) of 13,300 units or 68.3 per-cent.5 The road-based public transport carries the bulk of travelers in the study area. In Metro Manila, majority of travel is by jeepney (36 percent). But those using the bus are not far behind at 31 percent, according to the JICA Study Team. “The road-based public transport has remained the dominant mode of travel despite a considerably high growth in car ownership over the same period. It can be seen that there is strong demand for both jeepney and bus travel in all corridors, even in the corridors which are served by railways like EDSA and Taft/Rizal Avenue.”

Knowing how essential public trans-portation is to women, it is important to note that road safety is not only about women’s security against road accidents, but also their protection from all forms of violence, like sexual harassment.

Women’s vulnerability to sexual

harassment while on board a public utility vehicle has been attributed to the poor transport and traffic system in the country.

For one, the impact of traffic conges-tion on public transport is greater than (its impact) on private cars. Low speed equates to fewer trips, higher cost, and lower productivity. To passengers, it means longer travel time and higher incentive to shift to cars, as shown by the JICA Study Team. Because it takes longer for passengers of public utility vehicles to reach their destination due to traffic, women’s exposure to danger is higher.

There are other unique factors in a public transport setting that can lead to sexual harassment. These were identified in a study conducted by Mary Scheree Lynn Herrera of the UP College of Social Work and Com-munity Development (CSWCD): (a) Overcrowding leads to frequent physi-cal contacts; (b) Overcrowding raises doubts if the physical contact is pur-posively done or not—raised by male participants when/if the practice of overcrowding is treated as something normal and acceptable; (c) Sexual ha-rassment in an overcrowded vehicle is an interaction among different percep-tions based on gender and class—judg-ment and function; (d) Overcrowding as a result of lack of public transport services; (e) Anonymity and the transitory condition or situation where sexual harassment makes it hard for women to report or complain.6

Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women (2009) is a compre-hensive women’s human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination

against women by recognizing, protect-ing, fulfilling, and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sector. Adopting gen-der mainstreaming strategies as well as gender and development (GAD) mechanisms are some provisions for implementing the law. “Gender Main-streaming” as stated in the law, “refers to making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementa-tion, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. It is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned ac-tion, including legislation, policies, or programs in all areas and at all levels.”

Among the public transport develop-ment initiatives in relation to women’s protection and needs is the “passenger segregation measure” implemented by the Metropolitan Railway Transit (MRT) and Light Railway Transit Au-

thority (LRTA) in May 2006 and 2002 respectively. This allowed only female, children and senior passengers in the first train and was seen as a welcome development for female commuters in the public electronic trains,7 There was also the “operation of instant feeding stations” at the airport’s terminals 2 and 3, an accomplishments of DOTC’s aviation attached agency, the Ma-nila International Airport Authority (MIAA) in 2013.8

The DOTC’s road transport sector includes the Land Transportation Fran-chising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Toll Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Metro Manila Development Author-ity (MMDA), the Road Board, the Public Utility Vehicles Operators, the Rizal Federation of Transport Service

Stephanie S. Cabigao


WOMEN IN TRANSIT...continued from page 14

Uberhttps://www.uber.com/cities/manila

Uber is a technology-based transportation network that makes mobile apps that connect passengers with drivers of private vehicles for hire and ridesharing services. In Metro Manila, Uber’s service is available at the Makati and Ortigas corridors.

Wazehttps://www.waze.com/

Waze is the world's largest community-based traffic and navigation app, which allows drivers to contribute traffic and other road data by by sharing road reports on accidents, police traps, or any other hazards along the way, helping to give other users in the area a 'heads-up' about what's to come.

Viajehttp://appcircus.com/apps/viaje-2

Viaje is a user-friendly android application for commuters that calculates commuting costs to any destination in the Metro. It is designed to help commuters by presenting them with alternative routes that can help them save money, travel with the least distance or take a route with the least traffic jam.

RideInhttp://www.ridein.com.ph/

This app focuses on bus and taxi riders in Metro Manila, and lets users record their ride, rate it, and earn badges and points. The app also provides commuters with a Rides History and Traffic tweets.

PasaHerohttps: / /p lay.google.com/store/apps/detai ls?id=com.abscbn.pasahero&hl=en

Developed by ABS-CBN’s digital media division and powered by ABS-CBNnews.com, the “PasaHero” app's “My Trip” feature employs GPRS to track a trip from start to end using a Web-based map system, record the device’s current location, and track the duration and distance of the trip.

Alerts and updates on a user’s trip can also be shared through SMS and social media. This app aims to help keep commuters passing through risky areas safe, and ease the worries of their families and loved ones.

Taxikickhttp://www.taxikick.com/

Taxikick is an app that allows users to "kick" a taxi—that is, to report rude, overcharging or badly behaved taxi drivers on Facebook and Twitter to warn other passengers, and to inform the corresponding authorities.

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Sakay.phhttps://sakay.ph/

Sakay.ph is a web service and app that helps people use jeepneys, buses, and trains in Metro Manila, similar to Google Maps or Waze, but for commuting.

It was originally built as an entry to the Philippine Transit App Challenge (PTAC) held in 2013, where it won the Open Community Award.

nTrip Barkerhttp://www.tripbarker.com/

Trip Barker is a community-based trip planner for mass transit systems. Users can report and share weather, traffic, and events in real-time with other users.

Winner of the Best Transit App Award during the Philippine Transit App Challenge in 2013.

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Transport/Travel Apps to Make Life Easier

TrafficDitohttp://trafficdito.com/

TrafficDito is a crowd-sourcing app that makes it easy to report traffic conditions and search traffic conditions by location so you can easily avoid congested areas. Traffic updates are made through social media like Twitter. Unlike Waze, this was created by Filipino developers.

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Tripidhttp://www.tripid.ph/Tripid enables commuters in places where it is hard to get a taxi and private car drivers

to network with one another and find travel-buddies in order to motivate them to share car rides and carpool. n

MMDA Traffic Navigatorhttp://transit.com.ph/

The MMDA partnered with online news portal InterAksyon to create this app that updates users about traffic conditions along major routes in Metro Manila.

You can also Tweet the MMDA at @MMDA or like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MMDAPH

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RKlamohttp://appcircus.com/apps/rklamo-2

RKlamo is a web and mobile app that intends to solve traffic problems by giving incentives to good behavior of jeepney/public drivers. The app provides a tipping system from passengers to jeepney drivers for their good driving behavior. The users can use the mobile app to give a tip via SMS.

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GrabTaxihttp://grabtaxi.com/manila-philippines/

GrabTaxi is the first and largest taxi app in the Philippines and Southeast Asia that enables passengers to book taxis in just a few taps of their smartphones. GrabTaxi pre-screens all drivers and monitors their performance based on feedback from passengers daily.

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Cooperatives, the Tollway Association of the Philippines, the National Council for Consumers Safety and Protection, the League of City and Municipality Mayors of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police (PNP) as its sector offices and attached agencies.9 The conduct of gender capacity-building for employees and the appropriation of transaction lanes for women, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens are accomplishments of the road sector particularly the LTO and the LTFRB offices.10

As jeepneys and buses are the most accessible land public transport, the incidence of sexual harassment is likely to be high while on these modes of transport. However most cases remain unreported and unsolved. Concerned agencies lack implementing laws or programs to address sexual harassment as a punishable offense, even as it is a growing concern for female commuters.

While some gender responsive legislation and practices are being implemented at the road sector level, raising gender consciousness does not only concern the female commuter and the various road sector’s offices and agencies employees. Education is essential on the part of other transport stakehold-ers such as drivers, enforcers and traffic administrators.

In UP Diliman, the Diliman Gender Office (DGO), the Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment (OASH), the Office of



Motor Vehicles and Filipino Jeepney Drivers in Metro ManilaScientific research in support of government's transportation policies is crucial in

addressing the National Capital Region's (NCR) perennial traffic problem. Studies have been conducted by government in cooperation with international

organizations, but these apparently lack consultation with the road-users who are stakeholders and beneficiaries of government action. The most affected population, the Filipino drivers and commuters, deserve to have their voices heard for a truly inclusive response to the NCR's chaotic traffic situation.

The 2014 SONA Technical Report of the Aquino administration credits the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with developing the country's Transport Roadmap for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas "to address the worsening traffic congestion, lessen traffic accidents, and minimize noise and air pollution in highly urbanized areas through investments in public transportation and traffic management systems."

Mr. George San Mateo, national president of the militant Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston), said they were not consulted by these studies. Their access to official data and research is likewise limited so they had to use estimates or "rule of thumb" in the past to analyze data on the pub-

Filipino

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Fred Dabu

Jeepney drivers and operators rally for government interventions to curb "unrestrained" oil price hikes, create a nationalized oil industry, and protect consumers against alleged overpricing of products.

lic transport sector, specifically on jeepney drivers and operators. Data from the Department of Transportation and Communications - Land

Transportation Office (DOTC-LTO) for 2013 shows a total of 7,690,038 registered motor vehicles in the country. Of the said total, 868,148 are cars; 1,794,572 utility vehicles (UVs); 346,396 sport utility vehicles (SUVs); 358,445 trucks; 31,665 buses; 4,250,667 motorcycles or tricycles; and 40,145 trailers. The LTO lists a total of 2,101,148 motor vehicles registered in NCR, or 27 percent of the country's total.1

The Asian Development Bank's Philippines: Transport Sector Assessment, Strat-egy, and Road Map (2012) describes the country's transport services as "consisting mainly of jeepneys (public utility vehicles), taxis, tricycles, and pedicabs that are privately owned and operated. In 2010, taxis comprised 667,424 (35 percent) of the 1.9 million vehicles in Metro Manila, and half of the 6.6 million vehicles in the country were motorcycles."

A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (2013) revealed that 86 percent of motor vehicles were private, 13 percent for hire, and only 1 percent government-owned. Of the total number of vehicles traversing NCR, only 1.8 per-cent were public utility buses.

According to the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas (Region III & Region IV-A) report2 produced by JICA and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), citing 2012 data:

Buses, jeepneys and Asian utility vehicles (AUVs) basically comprise the road-based public transport services in the Greater Capital Region (GCR)..., which are all owned and operated by the private sector but regulated by the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB)... DOTC has estimated the number at 5,331 city buses. Inter-city (or provincial) buses ser-vicing the northern regions and Metro Manila is approximately 3,300 units, and another 4,000 in the southern regions. DOTC stated 7,736 buses in its justification for establishing common provincial bus terminals to replace the individually-owned terminals within the metropolis.

Jeepneys, with their urban carrying capacities ranging from 18 to 22, are more for the intra-city service. The jeepneys, which number more than 70,000 in the GCR area, are patronized by the low and middle income strata and carry more than 40 percent of daily trips in the metropolis. About half of the jeepney population in the three regions cater to the metropolis alone.

The AUV (also includes Filcab or FX) is of recent origin. It functions as a shared taxi and has been found convenient by office-bound employees. Both the jeepneys and AUVs provide only intra-city services in GCR.

A smaller version of the jeepney is the so-called multi-cab with a seating

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Motor Vehicles and Filipino Jeepney Drivers in Metro Manila

Figure 1. Percentage of Motor Vehicles, by Type (2008-2013). Source: LTO, NSCB PSY 2013. Image from Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

Figure 2. Number of public utility buses traversing Metro Manila (2008-2012). Source: MMDA. Image from Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

Jeepney drivers denounce alleged overpricing and consecutive oil price hikes in transport protests in front of the offices of oil corporations in Makati City, Philippines.

capacity of 12. This type of public transport runs on shorter routes. Multi-cabs are found in the reclamation area of Metro Manila and in the urban areas of Regions III and Region IV-A.

The study estimates the number of jeepneys at 34,522 units; UVs at 6,000 units; and tricycles and pedicabs at 200,000 in the NCR alone.

According to the DOTC-LTO report, a total of 4,825,584 driver's licences and permits were issued in 2013. Of this, 2,018,967 were professional, 1,287,073 were non-professional, and 1,506,848 were student driver's permits/licences. Of the total, 1,277,785 or more than one-fourth of the licences and permits were issued in NCR.

San Mateo estimated the number of jeepney drivers (and alternate drivers or relievers) at 162,500 and jeepney operators at 45,000.

San Mateo said jeepney drivers' ages range from 18 to even more than 74 years old. They start driving as soon as they receive a license and work for as long as they can to earn a living.

Drivers render public service by transporting commuters, yet do not have ben-efits and social protection unlike government employees.

"Ang mga jeepney driver ay 'mala-manggagawa' kumpara sa mga bus driver na 'manggagawa' kasi may employee-employer relationship sa mga bus company habang walang employee-employer relationship sa mga jeepney driver," said San Mateo, as regards social class. Majority of drivers come from the rural areas, "uring magsasaka," the peasant class. "Karamihan dating magsasaka, iniwan ang lupa at pumunta sa sentrong lunsod," he said. Most of them migrated to the urban centers in search of better living conditions but end up comprising the urban poor sector. Other drivers have either been retired or retrenched laborers, government employees (police and military), overseas workers, and part-timers.

San Mateo estimated the daily gross income of jeepney drivers on a 24-hour-run at Php500-600 or only equivalent to a Php250 per day take-home income for a 12-hour-shift, an amount way below the minimum wage standard for workers. He said there was no standard "boundary" or amount given to the jeepney operator. "Walang fixed amount, depende sa usapan, depende sa seating capacity, route, sit-wasyon ng trapik." For instance, short routes would require payments for operators as low as Php600 while long routes would require Php1,000 or more as boundary for a 24-hour-run.

San Mateo said it was necessary for jeepney drivers and operators to band to-gether to form organizations. Since they shared common routes, they formed route-based associations and joined larger federations to protect and advance the jeepney

drivers' welfare. He said Piston, as a progressive federation, relies on collective and militant action. Approximately 40 percent of NCR jeepney drivers have links with Piston.

San Mateo said their sector's urgent needs and concerns are similar to the urban poor's: to have reliable sources of livelihood and basic social services, such as housing, public health and education.

In addition to better public services from government, San Mateo proposes the reduction of taxes imposed on oil products and the scrapping of unjust fees and penalties imposed on drivers. Drivers contribute to the national coffers each time they purchase diesel and other petroleum products. For instance, if a driver con-sumes 30 liters of diesel per day with 12 percent value-added tax, this amounts to Php150 per day worth of taxes paid. Multiplied by 300,000, this is equivalent to as much as Php40M worth of taxes contributed by drivers per day, or in one year, a total of up to Php12B contributed by drivers to the national budget. "Essentially, jeepney drivers are public servants," he emphasized.

San Mateo said drivers benefit from affordable diesel since the amount they are able to earn and take home decreases as oil prices increase. Drivers also want "kotong" or extortion to be eradicated. He lamented that drivers, though already impoverished, are being made into "cash cows" by government, through unjust

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Jaems Relativo of Train Riders Network (TREN) [left] and Antonio Flores of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) [right] explained the state of the Philippine rail transport system and its adverse impact on the people.

Commuters from various sectors oppose MRT and LRT fare hikes.

Railways and Train Commuters in NCRThe Philippine population officially hit 100 million last July 27 with NCR as the

country's most densely populated region. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported NCR population to be at 11.9

million as of July 2013.3 PSA data revealed that of the said total population, 51 percent were female, nearly two-thirds were of voting age, most were high school graduates (vis-a-vis college, ranking second, and elementary ranking third, as the highest level of educational attainment of top three segments), around 5.26 million were in the labor force, and 4.71 million people were employed.4

Also, the PSA reported "Quezon City was the most populous with a population size making up 23.3 percent of the total regional population. The City of Manila came in second with 13.9 percent, followed by Caloocan City with 12.6 percent, City of Pasig with 5.6 percent, Taguig City with 5.4 percent, and City of Parañaque with 5.0 percent."

Three mass transit urban railway lines (LRT Line-1, LRT Line-2 and MRT Line-3) and a commuter mainline railway (PNR) traverse NCR. These railway systems "carried about 1.35 million passengers on an average week-day in 2012," according to the JICA-NEDA study.

The study described the 28 kilometer-long Philippine National Railways (PNR) as running "half-hourly services between Tutuban and Ala-bang. It carries around 40,000 to 50,000 passengers daily. The service is slow, and rather erratic as trains stop-start many times. Trains are full to crush-load from Tutuban to Alabang. Passengers at intervening stations sometimes cannot even get on the train and have to wait 30+ minutes for the next service. The service could hardly be called a ‘commuter’ service with half-hour headways and unpredictable travel times. It just acts as a ‘social-service’ for the poor who need to use the train in that corridor with fairly cheap fare, otherwise, may have to make a number of jeepney/bus rides for the same journey."

The 18.1 km-long LRT Line-1 traversing Baclaran to Caloocan was built in the mid-1980s. As of 2012, it carried an average of 519,000 passengers per weekday.

The 12.6 km.-long LRT Line-2 stretching from the Santolan to Recto stations car-ries an average of 212,000 passengers per day.

The 16.5 km.-long MRT Line-3 along EDSA carries most rail passengers (more than 572,000 to 600,000 per day) in NCR. Commuter groups demanding for a safe and accessible mass transit system said this volume was way beyond the MRT rated capacity of 250,000.

These statistics give us a glimpse of the volume, classification types, and possible concerns of different people driving or commuting daily, and getting caught in cha-otic traffic congested areas, on the roads and railways of NCR.

The third quarter of this year saw a series of train system mishaps, derailments or stalling which adversely affected MRT's thousands of commuters. Plans for train fare hikes added to the discontent of passengers already inconvenienced daily with jam-packed, frenzied, rush-hour commute.

Renato Reyes, Jr. of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), umbrella organization of progressive mass organizations in the country (representing labor,

peasant, student, women, migrant, and other sectors), explained in his blog post5 how the MRT project was an onerous deal from the start. He said the deal only favored big business interests.

"The MRT was a BLT project where private investors will build the system while government will operate it. As a BLT project, government will pay the private investors equity rental for 25 years, after which government will sup-posedly own the train system."

"The private investors from the Metro Rail Transit Corporation only in-vested $190 million from 1995 to -1997. The rest of the project was financed through $488 million in loans that the government of the Philippines fully paid

by 2010. It was the Philip-pine government who was actually shouldering the majority of the cost of the project."

"Despite their relatively small investment, the private investors were guaranteed a 15 percent return on their investment by the govern-ment. DOTC estimated this to be a total of $2.4 billion from 2000-2025, or nearly 13 times their original invest-ment. The BLT agreement assures the private investors that they will be paid, no matter what, even if there is no upgrade in the system or if ridership falls."

"According to the gov-ernment, we have paid the private investors of MRTC a whopping $779 million or

P32.5 billion in equity rental payments (ERP’s) from 2000-2013. That’s already more than four times their original investment. And according to the government, for the period in question, no new trains and significant upgrades in passen-ger capacity were installed."

"Since the ERP’s were guar-anteed payments, the private investors securitized some 77.7 percent of the future payments. The MRTC shareholders basi-cally sold the rights to collect payments from the Philippine government. Some of the original private investors al-ready cashed in on their future income and used the proceeds from the bond sales to get even more profits..."


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Figure 4. Characteristics of Travel Demand by Railways in MM. Image from Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas

(Region III & Region IV-A) of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) 2014 report.

Multisectoral organizations troop to MRT and LRT stations to protest fare increases amid railway malfunctions and accidents in 2014.

"...Seeing that the 15 percent guaranteed ROI will only place the gov-ernment deeper in debt, the Arroyo regime, through Land Bank and DBP, bought 80 percent of the economic interests of MRTC, including bonds and other instruments representing future payments. This meant that government banks are now entitled to collect 80 percent of the ERP’s that government itself was paying."

"While government bought 80 percent of the economic interests in MRTC, it is not the same thing as buying ownership of the train system. The original private investors, through MRT Holdings, still claim to be the ones who own the train system. MRT Holdings still own shares of MRTC and even man-aged to sue the Philippine government over the purchase of new trains."

"Government is willing to spend P53 billion to “buy back” MRT 3, but with the future intent of privatizing its operations and maintenance. Mean-while, MRT Holdings thinks P53 billion for the buy out is not enough and will not give government ownership of the train system."

"MRT Holdings wants to be the one to purchase new trains because it thinks that it can charge the government another 15 percent for the installa-tion of new passenger capacity. Government is right in rejecting this ar-rangement by the private investors. However, government officials involved in the purchase of trains also want to profit from the transaction through kickbacks."

"Despite the problems besetting the MRT, government has a pending proposal to raise the fares of the train system from P15 to P28 (North Ave to Taft) or an additional P8 per trip based on the average distance travelled by commuters.

Reyes said the government and private investors should both be held accountable for onerous deals and the commuters' daily fate. "Over the years, the BLT contract and the privatization policy have caused unbearable burden on commuters and tax-payers. The truly sad part is that government, while seeking to “buy out” the MRT, still seeks to privatize it eventually, bringing us back to where we started," he said.

Reyes called for government take-over of the MRT 3. "A government take-

RAILWAYS & TRAIN COMMUTERS IN NCR...continued from page 18

over costing billions will be all for naught if it’s direction is re-privatization. Govern-ment should invest in the train system as a necessary mass transport system benefiting taxpayers and the economy as a whole," he said.

Earlier publications by the IBON Foundation6 criticized the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects for railways by discussing how such deals "guarantee corporate profits rather than ensure affordable and accessible public services," such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 Cavite Extension project.

Peasant-worker organizations and party-lists have likewise slammed the Aquino admin-istration's newly-approved, lopsided PPP deal, the planned MRT-7 project. They said "it is


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THE COLORUM PHENOMENON...continued from page 11 license plates are envisioned to aid in the department's drive against colorum opera-tions in addition to promot-ing road safety and decon-gesting traffic.

What the LTFRB and the country need

A bigger budget, a larger pool of human resources, and increased computeriza-tion are the three biggest needs of the LTFRB. "We are maximizing the resources that we have but more is required to improve our operations," Salada said.

Distribution of Land Transportation Services in the Philippines By Type of Service as of October 2014 (Data from the LTFRB)

Type of Service

PUBMini BusPUJTaxi UV ExpressTourist Transport Shuttle Transport Fil CabSchool TransportTruck for Hire

TOTAL

No. of Franchise Granted

6,0043,804

166,16624,31419,3192,5932,280

18,2299,308

18,817270,834

No. of Units

23,2695,098

181,61239,33521,2317,3144,635

19,8669,642

63,162375,164

But more than meeting the needs of the government agency mandated "to promulgate, administer, enforce, and monitor compliance of policies, laws, and regulations of public land transportation services," she says that there is ultimately one thing that will significantly improve Philippine land transportation—the crafting and effective implementation of a com-prehensive, rationalized national land transport plan.

"That is what the country really needs. If we can accomplish that, then our land transportation problems will considerably decrease," she declared.--------------------Email the author at [email protected].

WOMEN IN TRANSIT...continued from page 15

RAILWAYS & TRAIN COMMUTERS...continued from page 19

gotong. Kung walang humihingi ng lagay, walang magbibigay ng lagay," he said.

San Mateo added how traffic problems have been aggravated by the volume of vehicles and the poor condition of roads.

"Ayon mismo sa MMDA, 80 porsiyento ng sasakyan sa NCR ay mga private vehicle, 20 porsiyento ang public transport (1 porsiyento truck, 3 porsiyento bus, 40 porsiyento jeepney). Less than 20 percent ng populasyon ang may private vehicle pero preferred ng may-kaya ang private vehicle kaysa public transport dahil inii-sip nila ang convenience nila," he explained.

San Mateo wraps up his recommendations to solve the transport sector's woes: establish a nationalized, modern, efficient, safe, and affordable mass transport system. For him, the foremost mode of transport should be the railways and train system, which would make commuting along strategic thoroughfares con-venient, and transport of goods more efficient. "Trains can carry commuters and goods. But not through public-private partnership. Kai-langan nationalized ang mass transport, not privatized," he said.

"Pero bago magkaroon nito, kailangang magkaroon ng tunay na repormang agraryo at national industrialization." .

"Kapag maraming private vehicle, ibig sabihin ay pangit ang public transport. Sa maunlad na bansa, ang mayayaman ay nag-cocommute,” concluded San Mateo.

a case of brazen plunder of public funds amounting to about P62.7-billion or $1.44-billion" which will only benefit favored big business groups.

According to Anakpawis Partylist, around 41,000 residents and farmers will be displaced by the MRT-7 project.7

Commuter’s group Train Riders Network (TREN) has called for the removal of top officials implicated in alleged corruption and mismanagement of the railways systems. The group is conducting forums and discus-sions about the state of the country's rail transport system, privatization, corruption, and impending fare hikes within the mass railway system.

To resolve train commuters' woes, TREN is calling for the scrapping of onerous contracts, increasing gov-ernment subsidy to modernize the rail transport system, nationalizing instead of privatizing the mass transit system, and utilizing the railways to jumpstart econom-ic development (i.e. efficiently and safely transporting people and commodities to improve productivity).

Underneath the rail mishaps, inconvenient rush hours, and chaotic traffic jams are political issues that defy acceptable business and moral standards. These is-sues have only been brought to the surface by crusading members of the ordinary folk. Such issues would not have been articulated if not for the critical voices from the marginalized.

In the long run, it is not the possession of technolo-gies nor interpretation of data that would be crucial in solving the nation's transportation problems. The solu-tions ultimately depend on the kind of people utiliz-ing the available data and technologies. For how can researchers and policy makers craft favorable solutions to traffic and commuter problems when existing plans are apparently deficient in consultations with important stakeholders of "development projects"? Worse, if the proposed projects are only beneficial to vested interests while being harmful to the vulnerable, affected sectors, ordinary folk will continue struggling to survive.--------------------Email the author at [email protected].

NOTES:1 Department of Transportation and Communications - Land

Transportation Office (DOTC-LTO). Retrieved from http://www.lto.gov.ph/index.php/component/jdownloads/finish/9/198?Itemid=0.

2 Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas (Region III & Region IV-A). Retrieved from http://libopac.jica.go.jp/images/report/12149605_01.pdf.

3 Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved from http://web0.psa.gov.ph/content/population-119-million-was-recorded-national-capital-region-results-2010-census-population.

4 Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved from http://www.nso-ncr.ph/special%20release/lfs/April%202014%20LFS.pdf.

5 Blog of Renato M. Reyes, Jr. Retrieved from http://natoreyes.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/here-are-14-awful-facts-about-the-mrt-problem-that-every-commuter-should-know/.

6 IBON Foundation. Retrieved from http://ibon.org/ibon_features.php?id=433 and http://ibon.org/ibon_features.php?id=400.

7 Anakpawis Partylist. Retrieved from http://www.anakpawis.net/2014/10/mrt-7-project-a-case-of-brazen-plunder-of-public-funds-anakpawis/.

fines and fees, and corrupt traffic enforcers who prey on drivers whether or not a violation was committed. "Sa ganito, hinahayaan ng gobyernong maging chaotic ang kalsada."

San Mateo explained how the driver who is motivated by economic survival to earn a little income would be tempted to pick up or drop off passengers on un-designated areas. A corrupt enforcer sees this as an opportunity to collect "tong" or "lagay" or money. "Yung tiwali ang gumagawa ng paraan para makapan-

MOTOR VEHICLES & FILIPINO JEEPNEY DRIVERS...continued from page 17

NOTES:1 Philippine Statistics Authority. (2014,

October). 2010 Census of population and housing: Latest regional quick stat update. Retrieved from http://web0.psa.gov.ph/statistics/quickstat.

2 Philippine Statistics Authority. (2014, October). Latest regional quick stat update. Retrieved from http://web0.psa.gov.ph/statistics/quickstat.

3 Philippine Statistics Authority. (2014, April). Percent distribution of population

Community Relations (OCR), the UP Diliman Police (UPDP) and the UP Transport Group Alliance, have col-laborated to address issues of sexual harassment on campus. The“Anti-Sexual Harassment in Public Spaces” advocacy sticker was launched in line with the Women’s Month celebration in March 2013. It involved the posting of stickers inside jeepneys operating within the campus. “The project aimed to expand its reach, not only for the UP constituents, but also the general public, in its fight against any form of sexual intimidation.”11

“The sticker campaign is part of DGO’s gender and development pro-

grams,” DGO coordinator UP Profes-sor Bernadette V. Neri said. It included the Gender Sensitivity training (GST) for various sectors of the UP commu-nity and other government agencies with the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) GST held recently. There is a continuing gender sensitivity seminar and orientation for members of the UP public transport group.

“Gender campaigns such as the advocacy sticker and gender orienta-tion for drivers have great impact on women’s education and advocacy. Efforts such as these help in promot-ing gender awareness among offices and groups as well as bringing services further to beneficiaries. It is not only the UP community, but also the general

public who regularly use PUJs routing the campus thoroughfares. The sticker helps create a sense of security among commuters, a reminder especially for females that there are centers to call for help. A report can be made and can be addressed,” Neri said.

The involvement of all public trans-port stakeholders—commuters, drivers, enforcers, traffic administrators—is necessary toward a safer mobility for women as well as a more gender-inclu-sive land transport and traffic system. Time lost to traffic, lives and human dignity compromised by unsafe roads can be regained with solidarity and cooperation among key actors in the public transport sector.--------------------

15 years old and over by employment status, by region and sex. Retrieved from http://web0.psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachments/hsd/article/TABLE%202B%20Percent%20Distribution%20of%20Population%2015%20Years%20Old%20and%20Over%20by%20Employment%20Status%2C%20by%20Region%20and%20Sex%20April%202014.pdf

4 Herrera, Mary SchereeLynn V. (2007). Sexual harassment in public transport: an exploratory study using a gender and development perspective. Quezon City: UP, 35-60.

5 Japan International Cooperation Agency. (2014, March). 2012 JICA study team – roadmap for transport infrastructure development for Metro Manila and its surrounding areas (Region III & Region IV-A).

6 Herrera 35-60.7 Herrera 110.8 Department of Transportation and Communication

- Manila International Airport Authority. (2014, January 15). Annual GAD accomplishment report FY – 2013. Retrieved from http://www.dotc.gov.ph/images/stories/GAD/Accomp2013/miaa.pdf

9 Department of Transportation and Communication. (2014, October). DOTC bats for gender equality in public transport. Retrieved from http://www.dotc.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=888:dotc-bats-for-gender-equality-in-public-transport&Itemid=103

10 Depar tment o f Transpor ta t ion and Communication. (2014, October). Retrieved from http://www.dotc.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=169&Itemid=115

11 UP DIliman Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment. (2013, March 20). Advocacy sticker on campus jeepneys. Retrieved from http://oash.upd.edu.ph/?page_id=12

Email [email protected].


Figure 1. Urban Transport Manifestation and Root Problems

UNDERSTANDING TRANSPORTATION...continued from page 24


An unpublished study on motorcycle-related accidents in Metro Manila in 2012 had shown the increase in road traffic accidents which shows a direct correlation between traffic accidents and economic growth and increase in vehicle ownership.

Growth and road accidents The environmental impacts of worsening traffic condition in Metro Manila

are more evident with the following information. Evident in the PM (particulate matters) emission by vehicle type is that trucks seem to be only third in diesel and second to the last, with motorcycles and tricycles the highest combined. Cars and SUVs have significant emissions. This implies that promoting low carbon transport system is a viable approach in promoting an environmentally sustainable transport system.

The trucking industry Another major transport issue that is overlooked and misunderstood is the truck-

ing industry. It is generally perceived that trucks are causing traffic congestion in major thoroughfares. In Metro Manila, for instance, trucks are considered to delay the movement of vehicles. Yet, trucks play an important role in ensuring a seamless intermodal logistics network system of an area, which is the backbone of economic development.

The trucking industry is worth looking into in the context of freight economy and intermodal logistics network system.

In addressing the impacts of freight movements in Metro Manila, a traffic re-straint measure known as truck ban was imposed years ago (Figure 3).

The City of Manila had recently imposed a total truck ban. While it had reduced traffic congestion in the city, the ban had significant economic impact.

If we look closely at the impacts of trucks on Metro Manila’s overall transport system, we can deduce that the problem is more than the truck movement The truck issue is a symptom of the overall problem associated with land use and trans-port, non-responsive and reactive measures, inadequate landside infrastructure and lack of integrated regional planning. Inconsistencies in regulations, enforcement and planning increase logistics costs and traffic problems in the metropolis.

An approach that can be looked into is the introduction of the city logistics initiatives that combine transportation planning, urban planning and intermodal logistics tools. City logistics is defined as the process of totally optimizing logistics and transport activities in urban areas while considering transport en-vironment, traffic congestion and energy consumption within the framework of free market economy. It aims to allow the private shippers and freight carriers




Growth and Road Accidents

Figure 2. Multiple Perceptions and Dimensions of the Urban Transport Problems

Corridor Level of Service (LOS). From Mega Manila Region Highway Network ITS Integration Project, JICA, 2013

Route (Selected)

Current

Travel Time (min:sec)

Travel Speed (kph)

Quirino Avenue to Buendia Avenue

Roxas Boulevard to Taft Avenue

Taft Avenue to Roxas Boulevard

Buendia Avanue to Quirino Avenue

8:32 12.65

1:24 68.72

4:23 20.05

2:51 32.86

reduce freight costs, and ensures that the public sector is relieved of congestion and environmental and energy problems. The policy objectives of city logistics are geared toward efficient environ-mental infrastructure and urban structure.

In summary, the issues confronting Metro Manila’s transport system are as follows:

a) Worsening traffic congestion;b) Rapid population growth and economic development;c) Increasing volume of public transport;d) Increasing carbon footprints; e) Growing commercial developments, land use/transport fric-

tion; andf) Lack of proper understanding of the impacts of freight move-

ments.

Addressing transport issues in Metro ManilaTo address the growing transport problems in the metropolis and

its environs, the government has instituted a number of mitigating measures:

a) Increasing infrastructure developments:– road/highway developments– introduction of new mass transit systems

b) Relocation of bus terminalsc) Imposition of traffic management schemes

– UVVRP– Truck Ban– U-Turn slots– Motorcycle lanes– Lane segregation for HOVs


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Safety Impacts of Truck Ban* A Probit Study indicated that the likelilhood of

accidents increases when the truck drivers: - operates a trailer-truck - has insufficient sleep - performs nighttime deliveries - has no complete knowledge of the truck ban

ordinance, and - violates truck ban rules

* Truck ban has significant impact on the likelihood of accidents

Issues on Truck Ban in Metro Manila* The truck ban is the most commonly used vehicle

restraint in developing countries* Banning trucks is a very feasible form of rationing

scarce peak period road space* Government usually enforces truck restraints so that public

transit modes would not compete for limited road space* Viable measure during construction periods when road

capacity is greatly reduced to ensure better traffic movements

* Truck restrictions can present harmful effects if not fully understood

Economic Impacts of Truck Ban1. Changes in truck operating characteristics

* shortened delivery schedules; reduced delivery hours* reduced quantity of products delivered during banned

hours* increased travel time

2. Reduce truck delivery frequency* decreased truck trip frequency per day

3. Reduced productino efficiency* decreased rate of production due to delays in delivery

schedules4. Increased transport costs

* increased costs due to poor productivity are passed on to consumers

Figure 3. Metro Manila Truck Ban

Truck Ban 1 (EDSA only)6 AM to 9 PM every day except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. No cargo truck shall be allowed to travel or pass along EDSA.

Truck Ban 2 (10 major routes)6 AM to 9 AM and 5 PM to 9 PM every day except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. No cargo truck shall be allowed to travel or pass along these routes.

Definition of Cargo Truck"Cargo truck" as used in the ordinance refers to motor vehicles, whether loaded or empty, having a gross vehicle weight of 4,5000 kgs or more, principally intended for carrying cargo.

Violation and PenaltyAny person who violates the provisions of this ordinance shall be punished by a fine of not less than Php500 but not more than Php2000 pesos or by imprisonment of not less than 7 days but not more than 30 days or both, at the discretion of the court.

structure projects within the government’s plans or through unsolicited proposals.Despite these initiatives, there is no integrated approach. A number of studies were initiated

for this purpose but none of them has been totally adopted or implemented. A study was also approved by the NEDA recently and transport planners hope that this will provide the proper approach.

The proposals presented in the study, dubbed as the dream plan for Metro Manila and its environs, may just be such—a dream. A concrete transport policy framework is being pushed to ensure implementation of the plan.

Apart from the proposed transport policy framework, there should be a supporting transport planning framework that is both responsive and multi-disciplinary in initiatives and strategies. Economic principles such as BPP (beneficiary pay principle, coined from PPP, polluter pay principle), WTP and CTP (willingness to pay and capacity to pay), should also be included in the policy framework. These principles will be useful in instituting economic measures, such as road pricing schemes. Likewise, infrastructure developments should be supported by soft and institutional measures, such as TDM (travel demand management), city logistics and land use-transport interactions (e.g., TODs, mixed used or compact cities developments. Supporting these initiatives are environmentally sustaining strategies such as promotion of NMTs (non-motorized transport systems), low carbon transport technologies. Introduction of TIAs (traffic/transport impact assessment) to address land use induced traffic should also complement the measures.

There is a need for a transport policy framework that is anchored on a responsive transport planning framework and aided by updated transport/traffic data and information. Relevant to data requirements is the development of ITS (intelligent transport systems) anchored on ICT (information and communications technology) that is not only relevant to the development of transport systems but also contributory to an efficient and seamless intermodal logistics net-work system.--------------------Dr. Hussein S. Lidasan is the director of Graduate Studies and professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning, and the deputy director of the Office of Design and Planning Initiatives, UP Diliman. Email him at [email protected].

d) Attempts to promote NMTs (Non-motorized Transport)e) Introduction of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems)

– traffic control system– ERP (Electronic Road Pricing)– traffic information system– traffic accident information management– bus operation and management

The private sector is also doing its part in addressing transport problems. De-velopers have initiated land developments through proper planning in the context of mixed-use developments, introducing TODs (transit-oriented developments/districts), through public-private partnerships (PPPs), undertaking transport infra-

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Understanding Transportation in the Context of Urban Planning

Over the past months, transport issues have caught media attention. These have mainly focused on the negative impacts of trans-

portation, perceived to contribute largely to the rapidly deteriorating condition of the environment. It has increased carbon footprints, which can have a medium- or long-term impact: worsening air quality and climate change. Traffic congestion, road-based-accidents, including maritime and air mishaps, are likewise attributed to transportation.

Despite the problems mentioned, economists look at transportation as a catalyst for development and a means for conveying people and commodities. Planners view it as closely linked to land use and as such needs to be carefully planned.

Issues in transportationThe pressing concerns in transportation are mostly found in urban

areas; thus, measures being proposed are concentrated in those areas. The problem is the lack of proper understanding of the total picture. Without appropriate approach and response, problems involving trans-portation cannot be effectively addressed. A more realistic goal is NOT to totally solve these problems but rather to minimize their negative impact on the riding public and the environment.

Transportation is key to development and a tool for improving the people’s quality of life (QoL). An efficient and seamless low carbon transportation system is crucial to economic growth, and ensures smooth movement of people and commodities.

There are many issues associated with urban transportation (Figure 1). Addressing these issues is not just the job of one discipline (Figure 2). Transportation problems should be understood from various angles. Countries like Japan, the US, South Korea, among others, have inter-disciplinary institutes or organizations that do research and studies on transportation.

Looking at Metro Manila’s transportation situationIn understanding the state of Metro Manila’s transportation, one

needs to look at the impact of urbanization on the metropolis. The concentration of population is in Metro Manila which is at-

tributed to the influx of in-migration resulting to rapid urbanization. The resulting rapid urbanization has led further to a growing sprawl to surrounding regions adjacent to the National Capital Region. Recent studies have adopted the term Mega Manila to describe this uncon-trolled growth of Metro Manila.

Higher traffic densities are found in areas that attract or generate travel demand, which is where economic activities are largely concen-trated. The growth of traffic is largely attributed to passenger cars.

The resulting growth in traffic has significant impacts on the levels of services of Metro Manila’s road network. Observers note that traffic congestion in Metro Manila have worsened recently.

A number of studies have shown the economic, environmental and economic impact of the deteriorating traffic condition in Metro Manila. A JICA study released early this year had estimated the economic cost of traffic congestion to a staggering PhP 2.4 billion/day plus PhP 1.0 billion in adjoining areas. This translates to PhP 1.2 trillion annually.

Hussein S. Lidasan


UP Forum September - December 2014

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