Motoring Today Column

Jan 10, 2018

I have had the opportunity to meet some of the dedicated people that make up the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (IACT) when they presented to a business organization, in their drive to get private support, their concept on how the group intends to help mitigate the ever-worsening traffic problem that costs the country billions every day.

I was impressed with their holistic approach, which goes beyond the strict implementation of traffic rules and regulations by well-trained and better equipped traffic enforcers to a well-thought of multi-media information campaign that would be geared towards a wider spectrum of road users from drivers, to commuters, pedestrians, bikers-the general motoring public. Although I still have to see this extensive media campaign implemented, its mere grand and detailed design is quite remarkable enough to begin with.

But as of this writing, I'm a little apprehensive with what has been reported that the IACT intends to do tomorrow, Monday of this week, which is to do a dry run of their campaign against smoke belching and dilapidated private and public utility vehicles.

Tagged as "tanggal usok, tanggal bulok", the IACT, which is composed of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Land Transportation Office (LTO),Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will flag down such vehicles, not for the purpose of apprehending but just to warn that the crack down on these vehicles shall start very soon. IACT intends to do these "warning flag downs" on main roads like EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Avenue and Marcos Highway.

I remember sometime back, similar campaigns were held by different government agencies like the MMDA, DNER, LGUs on different places and at different schedules and what horrendous traffic they caused on top of what was already clogging thoroughfares then. With the present worsened traffic situation these "warning flag downs" would inevitably cause it to get worst. Please, not again.

Perhaps instead of going through this all over again, this would be the right time to go full blast with the IACT's multi media information campaign with special emphasis on the implementation of the anti smoke belching and dilapidated vehicles campaign instead of causing more traffic.

It was also reported that the planned implementation would also eventually mean the flagging down of vehicles that appear to be smoke belching or dilapidated and require their owners to bring these vehicles to the LTO within 24 hours to undergo and pass roadworthiness tests before being allowed back to run on the streets.

I appreciate the rationale or justification of the campaign, which according to IACT is in adherence to President Duterte's marching orders to the agencies "to fix the road worthiness of vehicles". But with all due respect to IACT, this move to solve a problem is creating a much bigger problem.

Known to a few, there is a solution that is already in place to solve the problem of "running coffins" on our roads as well as vehicles that could kill with their toxic emissions—the MVIS or the Motor Vehicle Inspection System centers— except that there aren't enough. And for the very few that exists (there are three I gathered for all of the country's hundreds of thousands PUVs) all of them need to be upgraded if not totally overhauled.

If we had enough working MVIS centers in the country that would strictly disallow PUVs that are dilapidated or smoke belchers from being registered and ply their routes, IACT wouldn't have to flag down vehicles and further contribute to the already mind unsettling traffic problems that the government has and the citizens have to endure as a daily way of life.

Think about it. It makes sense.

There are no ifs and buts about it. The government is dead serious in its jeepney modernization program, which is targeted to have its full implementation in three years time as assured by no less than DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade regardless of threatened transportation paralyzing nationwide strikes by militant transport groups.

But reading through the list of promised improvements and standards of the modernized jeepneys worries me a bit if they would really be met.

Take stock of the following standard features of the modern jeepney that would be powered by solar, electricity or only Euro 4 compliant fossil fuel-run engines, which would replace our cultural icon for public transport, such as free wifi, CCTV cameras, automated fare collection, speed limiters, exit door on the right instead of at the back, PWD ready, to name some. Can the government assure the commuting public and those drivers and operators that would be displaced by its modernization program that all these would be found in the modern jeepney?

If the answer is a firm and committed yes, than I guess the program would indeed be successful as the old jeepneys would eventually meet a natural death with the riding public deciding its fate. The government would probably not have to resort to radical and unpopular means as the drivers and operators themselves would not need to be convinced as fewer and fewer commuters would opt not to ride in dilapidated and unsafe transport. In a short time maintaining old jalopies for public transport would no longer be viable as a business enterprise.

All the government has to do it to deliver what's promised and the riding public would see you through a resounding success.

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