Exact change only

All we need are enough signs and impose an “Exact Change Only” policy.

Listening to the lament of motorists who skipped town right after Christmas day it certainly makes me wonder if people actually think about how they can make life easier and faster for them and for others simply by being prepared.

A case in point was the X hundred thousand laments of motorists complaining about the long lines at the various toll booths at the NLEX, SCTEX, TPLEX, CAVITEX, SLEX and Star Tollways. All it takes to reduce the lines by half if not totally would be for everyone to have the exact amount ready before they reach the toll booth. Of course since not everyone drives those destinations regularly most of them won’t know how much, which is why the Toll Regulatory Board and the toll operators should have pre-positioned boards telling people how much to prepare and pay. In the age of Internet, they should also post and update these fares 24/7.

Once the toll rates are posted physically and virally, the expressways should impose “EXACT CHANGE” Policy on 80% of their lanes and split the remainder to E-Pass or cash lanes. If Filipino drivers cannot be counted on to voluntarily prepare exact change, then the operators should force them into the habit. So many drivers simply WON’T BOTHER or CAN’T BE BOTHERED to think about how much a bother they are to themselves and to others. The tollways can also sell “tokens” for those who don’t use the expressways enough to justify buying an Electronic pass. These tokens can easily be sold at gasoline stations as part of the CSR of Petron, Shell, Caltex and Total.

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I heard that Senate President Frank Drilon was one of the victims of the record breaking 11.5- to 12-hour drive to Baguio City where he was sorely disappointed to discover that the exodus of Christmas lemmings to the City of Pines transformed the fragrance of John Hay from pine scent to eau de petroleum.

The Senate President may not have been to Baguio for a while but part of the problem has to do with the unrestricted and unregulated entry and operation of public utility vehicles into the former “Summer Capital of the Philippines.” In fact, my family and I have stopped driving our own car to Baguio but have been taking the Express bus that even has a toilet, snacks for sale, free movies and wifi. Once in Baguio we go on foot or hail one of the thousands of taxis in the city.

The fact is some residents and lovers of Baguio have tried to protect the city from over development, commercialization and pollution via an act of Congress. I don’t know whatever happened to that but it seems that both the national government and the local governments past and present opposed or refused to protect Baguio as a historical, cultural and environmentally endangered site. Unfortunately, Baguio City’s allure has also caused its destruction and from the looks of it, Tagaytay City may ultimately suffer the same fate simply because tourism of the worst kind is what fuels the ugliest of commercial development fueled by the myopic greed of politicians and businessmen.

On the other hand, Sen. Drilon’s discovery or realization may lead to a good thing such as the establishment of a special body or authority that can regulate the development or spearhead the correct development of places such as Baguio, Sagada, Tagaytay, Tanay, Lipa and similar places in Cebu, Tarlac, and Negros that also have elevated and cool locations that have started to draw a loyal or curious following. I once suggested the planting of pine trees along the slightly elevated highways of Batangas province where we have proven that Benguet Pine do grow, but I still have to see some interest from the governor and mayors of the province.

Tagaytay City and the town of Alfonso, Cavite should actually consider planting a lot of the same pine trees especially after Typhoon Glenda ripped out a majority of the trees last August. If these localities along with Tanay and Lipa were to do so, chances are they could prove attractive and be alternatives to the tiny, distant and over crowded City of Pines.

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Still on tourism related disappointments, members of the Land Rover Club of the Philippines organized a four-wheel drive towards Mount Pinatubo but stopped several kilometers short of the crater. I had originally meant to sign up hoping to show Pinatubo to my wife and daughter but the announcement that there would be “no hike” to the crater was a turn off since it also meant I won’t get to check if the Department of Tourism ever kept their word to build a decent if not proper toilet at the base of the crater.

Two weeks later I learned that the approach to the crater area was no longer stable or easily approachable because the Mayor of a nearby town who was doing all the work and sending a “grader” to maintain access to the crater area felt they were on the losing end of the stick since they were spending money, fuel and manpower using a grader to do the job but another Mayor whose town serves as the registration, jump off and collection of “entrance fees” was not even sharing the proceeds or even paying for the maintenance.

Imagine that. We have a national resource, a major tourism site that has ended up becoming a backyard feud. It seems the Department of Tourism people are only interested in comfortable, developed destinations where they can go on FAM tours (familiarization tours) and not in rough outdoors where they have to ride 4 X 4s, make investments and actually work! At least we now have an idea what their standard and meaning is when they say “It’s More Fun In the Philippines.”

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