The Philippine Transport System
Slow
traffic has always been a problem in the Philippines and is nowadays utterly
unbearable. Almost every day we are going through a chronic congestion on the
road whether be it on a holiday or weekends. In the Philippines, there are
several main modes of transportation in land, including jeepneys, buses,
tricycles, pedicabs, minibuses, UV express, rail systems such as MRT and LRT
and taxis. Unlike in other countries, whereas, traffic is not fatal, such us in
the US and Britain and their most common means of transportation is to travel
by car, taxi or train only. [1]
The
world is aware of our problem as Manila again topped the survey for the longest
minutes spent commuting daily. The Philippine government has proposed several
ways to ease traffic in the main roads, such as the implementation of the
Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police to untangle traffic, the
opening of alternate routes known as Mabuhay Lanes, and the construction of
modular steel bridges in EDSA which is the major thoroughfare in Metro Manila.
[2] However, as a commuter who always crosses over EDSA, despite these proposed
ways to ease traffic by the government, I see no improvement at all.
As
suggested by many concerned citizens and commuters, our government should build
efficient mass transit systems instead of road rehabilitation and maintenance
projects which mainly causes the traffic jam on roads. Increasing car volume is
an obsolete question in hand because as our population grows, automotive
industry also advances. But by building mass transit systems that would
accommodate thousands of commuters, who usually commute by buses, jeepneys and
UV expresses can at least lessen their volume along the road. For example, “In
Hong Kong, it has a population of over 7 million people and a 218-km Mass
Transit Railway network that caters to around five million passengers daily. In
Singapore, it has a total population of only 5.47
million but is serviced by a 360-km Mass Rapid Transit and Light Rail Transit
systems with an average ridership of 2.6 million every day. However, in the
Philippines that has a total population of more than 100 million of which 12
million are in Metro-Manila. Despite the concentration of political and economic
activities in this area, the Philippines only provide its riding public a
16.9-km Metro Rail Transit with a maximum design capacity of 350,000
passengers.” [3]
I suggest that our government should never
set aside or get tired of thinking of possible solutions regarding this issue.
The government as a policy maker has an important roles and priorities in our
transportation system, to determine public interest, to frame policies that
could address the interest of the citizens, to legislate for chosen policies
and to develop transport strategies. [4] I believe that if we do not soon begin
to move forward or advance, we will always be
inevitably left behind.
References:
[3]
http://www.mb.com.ph/ph-lags-efficiency-in-sea-mass-transport-system/
[4]
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTRANSPORT/Resources/336291-1120428513730/amos.pdf
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