EDITORIAL - The real problem in public transport

The jeepney strike last Thursday, launched to protest higher fees and penalties imposed by government,  was doomed to fail from the start. First, you do not fight government and expect to win. Second, the strike was unreasonable and did not give the strikers the high moral ground.

The first is a given, so let us move on to the second. The strike was unreasonable because it punished the wrong people — commuters who not only have nothing to do with the issue but also serve as the main source of livelihood for drivers and operators.

Drivers and operators cannot live without commuters but commuters can live without drivers and operators. It may take some adjustments and a lot of sacrifices, but commuters can survive on motorcycles and bicycles or, as a last resort, their own legs if it comes to that.

The strike was also unreasonable because the government is not collecting any money from drivers and operators just like that. It is only going to collect fines and penalties if the drivers and operators commit violations or irregularities. If they do not do anything wrong, they do not owe government a cent.

Now, if a violation is committed, then naturally some penalty has to be suffered or a fine paid. That is how things work in a society governed by laws and it applies to everybody in every aspect of life — from public transport and even all the way to sports, as when a basketball player leaves a game on fouling out.

But government is not without its fault either, and should be reminded of its share of the blame for the great inconvenience suffered by the public. And the main fault of government is precisely its decision to hike penalties and fines.

Why the heck must government hike penalties and fines? Will a hike in penalties and fines ensure better public service? If the intention is to curb the many irregularities in the public transport sector, a hike in penalties and fines is not the way to attain that goal.

To have law and order, society must have law and order. Society can have the severest penalties and the biggest of fines, but if there is no one to enforce them, or if the ones enforcing them are corrupt and willing to look the other way in exchange for grease money, then lawlessness will still prevail in that society.

How many times have we heard from government the limp excuse that it does not have enough manpower to enforce the rules? That, in fact, is the answer. It is not stiffer penalties and higher fines that will solve whatever is bugging the system. It is the inefficiency and laziness of government that is the problem.