The bus system we should have

Michael Brown

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The bus system we should have
'We need to fix the current broken system, not work around it'

Rappler’s recent article “What PH can pick up from Seoul’s 2004 bus reform” was right on the money, and it highlights things I’ve been advocating for years. Things we really need to be talking about. So I’d like to start that discussion, by commenting on some of the points the author raised, and making some suggestions of my own.

According to the article, Seoul used to be where Metro Manila is today, with a chaotic public bus system marked by aggressive drivers and an absolute disregard for traffic rules. This is today’s Metro Manila in a nutshell.

Simple inefficiency

In 2004, motivated by the need to fix traffic problems at a lower cost, the Seoul city government wisely understood the root cause of their public transportation problem — simple inefficiency.

Seoul’s poor bus service was not caused by a lack of infrastructure, but rather by the simple fact that the bus system itself was badly organized and badly operated. It wasn’t doing the job it was supposed to be doing. So instead of spending a fortune on new infrastructure, the city boldly decided to reorganize the bus system.

In a matter of a only a few months, Seoul was able to increase average bus speed, decrease the number of accidents, and add more than 700,000 passengers to their bus system, presumably people who switched from private automobile to bus transportation. These are not insignificant achievements.

According to the article, international experts hailed Seoul’s cost-effective reform plan as “proof that improving public transportation does not mean having to rely on expensive solutions.” I agree with that wholeheartedly.

Metro Manila can and should do the same thing. Our public bus “system” is hardly a system at all. Buses are driven aggressively, competitively, and dangerously, with little or no regard for the needs of the riding public. This behavior is a major cause of congestion on Metro Manila roadways, and yet enforcement agencies make little effort to control it.

As a key part of our mass transportation system, our public buses are glaringly inefficient, and could be made dramatically more effective through simple management. But our traffic managers don’t seem to be interested in doing that, advocating instead incredibly expensive infrastructure solutions: skyways, subways, and 30-year “dream plans.”

Photo by Joseph Albano

Yes, some of that construction may be necessary. Yes, we do have too many vehicles and not enough roads, and yes, the road system we have is poorly designed. But before we spend billions on infrastructure projects that will take years to complete, why don’t we follow Seoul’s lead and just fix our disorganized bus system? If we do it the right way, we could get an improvement in bus service efficiency in only a few months, at a cost of almost nothing. That means dramatically faster commute times, immediate decrease in accidents, and a significant shift of passengers from automobiles to mass transit.

What needs to be done

The steps required to make this happen are really, really simple.

First, we have to provide public buses with dedicated, exclusive lanes, so they can move freely, and on a strict schedule, unhindered by the congestion of regular traffic. EDSA’s Yellow Lane was originally designed for this purpose, but it’s never been properly enforced. Keep the buses inside the designated bus lane, and keep regular traffic out of the bus lane. It’s that simple. With a few new procedures, and effective enforcement, this can be done easily.

Second, take control of bus behavior. This means effectively enforcing the existing laws that tell bus drivers when, where, and for how long they can stop to load passengers, which lanes they can operate in, how fast they can go, and how to interact with other road users. These laws are already in place, but they are ignored by drivers and enforcers alike. The current chaos exists because we simply don’t enforce the rules.

Third, once and for all, get rid of the ridiculous commission system, that pays drivers based on the number of passengers they carry. As long as that system is in place, even partially, bus drivers will compete with each other, and the chaos will continue. Public bus drivers should be regular employees of the companies they work for, and should be paid fixed, regular salaries. Performance incentives should be based on the driver’s safety record, and on his ability to adhere to a reasonable bus schedule, not on how many passengers he can squeeze into each trip. Any company unwilling to do this should not be allowed to participate in the public transportation system.

Fourth, and this one will take a little longer, we need to revamp the existing route scheme. Bus and jeepney routes should be combined under a single plan, and it should be possible to travel between any two points in Metro Manila by taking at most two or three rides. It might be necessary to design the new route plan from scratch, rather than trying to modify and merge existing plans.

Unmanageable versus unmanaged

Metro Manila traffic is congested and chaotic, not because it’s unmanageable, but rather because it is unmanaged 

This is a simple description of how to reform the Metro Manila public bus system, and the actual program would be a bit more detailed, but it can be done, if we are willing to do what must be done.

If I’ve said this once, I’ve said it a thousand times “Metro Manila traffic is congested and chaotic, not because it’s unmanageable, but rather because it is unmanaged.” And that lack of management makes the whole transportation system inefficient.

A properly working, efficient public bus system, that can move people from one place to another quickly, safely, and comfortably, would be an attractive alternative to the private automobile. But for that to become a reality, government must go all out.

Half-baked schemes, like the DOTC/MMDA Express Connect service, will not be enough to motivate private motorists to leave their cars at home. We need to fix the current broken system, not work around it. I’d be more than happy to offer ideas and advice on how to do that. – Rappler.com  

Michael Brown is a retired member of the US Air Force, and has lived over 16 years in the Philippines. He writes on English, traffic management, and law enforcement issues.

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