It’s those half empty colorum buses, stupid!

Now the guy who thinks Manila is the Gate to Heaven wants to stop us from using our cars two days in a week. Sure, we are rather desperate about our worsening traffic situation. But the proposal is so stupid I am no longer surprised it came from him.

It shows that they are incapable of creative thinking at MMDA. The proposal is a sure fire plan to make traffic even worse. Folks will just do what they did when we adopted the number coding scheme… buy another car. I suspect the MMDA guys are getting a fat commission from the car dealers.

On the other hand, those of us who cannot afford to buy another car will just suffer quite a bit from the inconvenience. Proposals like this can be expected from guys who have exempted themselves from the ban because they use government issued cars. 

The uproar over the two-day ban proposal was expectedly loud and angry. Actually, if they had been using what little brain function they still have, they would have taken pains to first show that they have done all they can do and this drastic option is the only one left.

But everyone knows that there is still a lot more the MMDA folks can do before they exact more suffering from our already suffering people. To paraphrase former President Clinton, it’s those half empty colorum buses, stupid!

Yes, the MMDA Chairman must first gather the balls to deal with all those undisciplined half empty buses plying EDSA. Not only do those buses clog the highway, their undisciplined way of driving slows down traffic too. I recall an LTFRB official once estimated that less than a third of those buses are needed on EDSA...or was it just a fifth?

The question is… why is MMDA Chairman Tolentino afraid to deal with the colorum buses? At least former MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando had the balls to deal with them. Unfortunately, Fernando didn’t get the support of LTFRB so that the problem can be dealt with once and for all.

The talk around town is that police generals and politicians and their mistresses are the operators of those colorum buses which explains why officials like Tolentino are afraid to tangle with them. Government will have a lot more credibility to ask for more sacrifices if they are seen to have enforced the law and taken those illegal buses out.

Perhaps they can go back to basic Economics for a solution to the buses problem. As I have been saying here, I think the bus fare is set too high so that even a very low load factor is profitable for them.

Maybe we can set the bus fare at the same level as the MRT and watch those illegal buses voluntarily take their units out. The legal ones should not complain because without the unfair competition, they get more passengers and do more trips with better traffic flow.  

If that is still insufficient, we can go and use Economic principles again. Because of the congestion, using EDSA now has a higher price and those who want to use it at certain hours of the day must be ready to pay that price.

This is not a new idea. Singapore and London among other big cities use this rush hour toll on vehicles as a means of making users think twice about their trip. Those who do not want to pay the toll can schedule their trip after rush hours. Those who cannot afford not to be on the road on rush hour must factor the additional cost.

People should be made to use their judgment through economic incentives and disincentives. We can still have that one day number coding and in addition, put in the rush hour toll. All cars must get a transponder so that no toll booths will be needed… as they do it in Singapore.

DOTC should also rush those bus terminals at the edge of the metro area for provincial buses. They have issued so many press releases about this plan but we see nothing happening on the ground. Of course this will adversely affect the family of Mar Roxas when the Cubao bus terminal is closed. But we need these terminals to be out of the city now.

The long term solution to EDSA gridlock is safe and dependable mass transport. That is a bit hopeless because we have an inept, and now a seemingly corrupt DOTC. I am sure many of those who drive their cars to work would use the MRT or a BRT if available and safe. I am sorry to say that MRT 3 is a tragedy waiting to happen at the rate they are postponing proper maintenance of the system.

This is why Sec Jun Abaya must not be so patronizing by saying car owners can take public transport. He has done absolutely nothing to make public transport safe, reliable and comfortable. Just last Friday there was another robbery attempt in an EDSA bus that resulted in a shooting incident. That the one shot was the robber is no small comfort for passengers who could have been hit by stray bullets.

I am in favor of dedicating a lane on EDSA for a Bus Rapid Transit system. Existing buses can be converted into this system and because they are limited to just one lane, they will not be able to disrupt traffic in other lanes. They can also run on predictable timetables. Drivers can be given salaries so they don’t act like the road maniacs they are today.

None of these suggested solutions to the EDSA traffic problem are new or even novel. All of these make sense… these are no-brainer solutions. But the problem is political will on the part of our officials to get anything worthwhile done.

MMDA officials like Mr Tolentino seem to have no imagination and don’t want to do the heavy lifting required of public officials like him. It is the tyranny of stupidity that enslaves this country and keeps it from flying high as it should. If they say they are trying their best, I am sorry to say that their best is not good enough. They have to try a lot harder.

Oh, I know… I am wishing for the moon.

LTO nanaman

PhilStar reader Darren Fernandez had this to say about the LTO.

This is just to react to your Demand & Supply article last 8 July about LTO’s inefficiency. When drivers and car owners are late, even just for a week in renewing our licenses or registration papers, we get penalized.

Now LTO doesn’t even have the stickers or the plates and using delayed or failed bidding as their excuse. LTO should also be penalized for their inefficiency.

 There should be a discount for every day of delay in delivering stickers and plates. They should also get no incentives other than the mandatory 13th month. They must also render weekend work because most of us are also working and can’t be absent on workdays.

P-Noy should scold LTO like he scolded NIA. Thanks and more power to you and your newspaper.

Love

Aurora Pijuan sent this one in one of my e-groups.

A group of women gathered at a seminar on how to live in a loving relationship with your husband. The women were asked, “How many of you love your husbands?”

All the women raised their hands.

Then they were asked, “When was the last time you told your husband you loved him?”

Some women answered today, some yesterday, some didn’t remember…

The women were then told to take their cell phones and send the following text to their respective husband: I love you, sweetheart.

Then the women were told to exchange phones and read the responding text messages.

Here are some of the replies:

1) Eh, mother of my children, are you sick?

2) What now? Did you crash the car again?

3) I don’t understand what you mean?

4) What did you do now? I won’t forgive you this time!!!

5) ?!?

6) Don’t beat about the bush, just tell me how much you need?

7) Am I dreaming? ???????

8) If you don’t tell me who this message is actually for, you will die today...!!!

9) I asked you not to drink anymore!!

and the best one

10) Who is this?

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco