MMDA to get rid of barkers at terminals

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is now working on a project that will get rid of noisy and annoying barkers in Metro Manila bus and jeepney terminals.

The idea is to replace them with signs which will tell people where to go, where to cross, and where to board public utility vehicles (PUVs).

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said motorists and the commuting public should make it a habit to read road signs.

"Gamitin natin yung mata natin sa halip na tenga, magbasa tayo (Let us use our eyes instead of our ears. We need to read)," he said during the agency’s weekly radio program aired over GMA-dzBB yesterday.

According to Fernando, the MMDA is working to make the corner of Quezon Avenue and EDSA a pilot site for a "sign-based system" of controlling people and vehicles.

Fernando believes that it will make Metro Manila roads quieter.

Filipinos have long been depending on barkers for directions. They are often seen shouting destinations and other information at bus and jeepney terminals.

Some do not mind them but some get irritated with them when they act like salesladies in department stores and public markets.

Barkers earn a living by asking bus and jeepney drivers for spare change in exchange for their "services."

Some drivers freely give them money but some complain over how they oblige drivers to pay for a service they did not solicit in the first place.

The MMDA said it does not intend to render these people jobless but if signs are enough to guide the public, Metro Manila will have no more need for barkers.