Light at the end of the tunnel

The raging quarrel of Metro Manila Mayors with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has necessitated no less than the Cabinet to step into the picture. The beef of the mayors with the LTFRB is over the suspension of apprehension against colorum trucks and buses clogging Metro Manila roads everyday.

The mayors blamed the LTFRB for adding to the traffic problem when it suspended its anti-colorum drive with respect to trucks and buses that have franchise but have pending applications for routes to operate.

As I’ve pointed out previously, if only there had been prior consultation with people and agencies concerned, especially with stakeholders in the transport sector, we would not have this specter of blame game among government officials.

The roads are not getting any wider while the patience of motorists are getting shorter by the long hours of traffic jams in Metro Manila.

For a sober discussion of the issue, let me share with you a very long letter from the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) president Alejandro R. Yague Jr. As the PBOAP president, he gives us insights on how they as stakeholders view the prevailing traffic congestion problem in Metro Manila. Reprinted below is his letter:

“It is convenient to blame provincial buses for the Metro Manila traffic jams. On the surface, this seems to be credible. And the failure of the bus industry people to clarify the issue, our eternal silence if you will, has nurtured the myth that provincial buses are, indeed, to blame for traffic jams in the metropolis.

It is about time to shatter that myth.  First, a very useful context:

Provincial bus operators were last granted new franchises in 1992 yet, when the national population was just barely 60 million. From that time on until today, with the population breaching the 100 million level, there has been a moratorium on the grant of provincial bus franchises. The number of legitimate bus franchises, with emphasis on the word legitimate, was   based on an operating condition of 60 million people.

This demographic fact alone carries a lot of truth. Provincial buses just barely adequate for 60 million or so people cannot be excessive for a population of more than 100 million. It is worth adding that even in 1992, the grant of franchises was not whimsical and arbitrary. It was based on extensive surveys and data gathering – real science was behind the grant of the franchises in 1992. The DOTC people undertake what they call “route measured capacity“ before any grant of franchise and the basis for this is real metrics.

When supply acutely falls short of demand, given the inadequacy of provincial bus franchises and the transport void that has to be filled, colorum operators are emboldened. This precisely is where the energies of both the DOTC and the LTFRB are directed at right now – purge the colorum operators that entered into the picture to fill up the void un-served by legitimate franchised operators.

The so-called route rationalization policy of LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez, which is being accused as the source of traffic jams now, will actually do the opposite. It will purge with extreme prejudice the colorum operators. The rationalization policy will put in place iron-clad rules that will tighten the screws on colorum operators and deprive them of any elbow room to operate. With a P1 million fine for every violation (the colorum buses are the beat-up buses worth P1 million or less), the incentive for colorum operators to continue operating will evaporate.

The net result: colorum operators permanently out of the bus business. And a drastic reduction of buses entering Metro Manila.

The rationalization policy will not only purge the colorum operators. Its purpose is to make sure that every franchised bus will only serve the route specified in the franchise. The room for flexibility, after the October deadline for the rationalization work of the LTFRB, will be history. Under the current practice, and before Chairman Ginez was appointed head of the LTFRB, the franchised provincial bus operators are allowed a little room for flexibility to effectively served the commuter routes which density has expanded by leaps and bounds since 1992.

Right now, various lines, franchised and legal, are allowed to serve lines touching Metro Manila on a limited basis to fill up the huge gap, especially during the peak and holiday seasons.

The rationalization policy, this should be worth noting, will not increase – even by a single franchise — the 1992 franchises. We have to repeat this to avoid a misunderstanding. The LTFRB will not increase the number of franchises — the number in 1992 will stay the same. What the LTFRB is doing is to legitimize the short and medium-distance routes that have been touching Metro Manila for over a decade, and are, for all intents and purposes, serving the provinces and Metro Manila. Legitimize the provincial buses serving Metro Manila on a de facto basis.  And these are not even many.

The route rationalization policy of the LTFRB is one of the best land transport polices to be issued by the government, if not the best. Everybody wins, first and foremost the traffic alleviation program of government.

The route rationalization is in lockstep with the “tuwid na daan” policy of President Aquino. With colorum operators out and out-of-line operations deemed as illegal with finality come October, the route rationalization of provincial buses will finally end “kotong” or “tong-pats” which allowed colorum operators to roam freely on the roads and be a menace to society and commuters.

The route rationalization policy will be the ultimate colorum-buster. The way it is structured, it will succeed in purging — with extreme prejudice — all illegal operators between the provinces and Metro Manila. It will deny the room for flexibility to franchised operators. It will be good for the economy and the commuting public.

We are deeply thankful to President Aquino, Sec. Abaya and LTFRB Chairman Ginez for this game-changing policy.”

Fortunately, there is no quarrel between the LTFRB and the MMDA and Metro Manila mayors over the issue of route rationalization policy in so far as the provincial buses are concerned.

So literally, there is a light at the end of tunnel once you pass and overcome the hellish traffic in Metro Manila.