Gov’t still working on easing Metro traffic

During the 2016 presidential campaign, then candidate Rodrigo Duterte said there was no “silver bullet” that could solve the country’s perennial traffic problem.

In a bid to ease congestion in Metro Manila, the Duterte administration committed itself to a “basketful of solutions” ranging from stricter traffic enforcement and regulation to amping up infrastructure development.

But two years later, bottlenecks in the development of transportation-related projects and changing policies have resulted in shelved or delayed programs. As a result, decongesting traffic in the capital remains a pipe dream.

A 2017 Japan International Cooperation Agency study said that around P3.5 billion—higher than the estimated P2.4 billion in 2012—was lost to traffic daily.

On the other hand, newly registered vehicles nationwide from January 2016 to April 2018 reached 5.6 million, according to the Land Transportation Office. Around 329,107 were private cars, 186,643 of these registered in Metro Manila.

Few roads, many vehicles

Neomie Recio, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic engineering director, said there should be a road network of at least 8,200 kilometers in the metropolis to accommodate the rising number of vehicles.

But as of 2018, Metro roads span only around 5,005 kilometers, effectively turning these into a “parking lot,” she said.

Even the average travel speed and time in Metro Manila has gone down. From 27.8 kilometers per hour in 2010, it hit 25.9 kph in 2017, based on MMDA data. Recio said the average vehicle speed should reach 40 kph for drivers to feel comfortable.

‘Build, Build, Build’

Ironically, the situation was partly due to ongoing infrastructure projects under one of the government’s traffic solutions: its ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.

Among these projects were the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7 extension line in Quezon City (expected to be finished by 2020) and the P9.5-billion LRT 2 Masinag extension in Manila (2019).

COA report

But while Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade stressed his commitment to the “basketful of [traffic] solutions,” a 2017 Commission on Audit report said that 96 percent of his department’s funded projects were either delayed or failed.

Among these were the P53-billion bus rapid transit systems in Metro Manila and Cebu which were shelved over logistical constraints.

Other projects that have yet to start include phase 1 of the Mindanao Railway project, the 107-km Philippine National Railway-Clark, as well as the common station for the Light Rail Transit Line 1, MRT 3 and MRT 7.

Tugade attributed the delays partly to right-of-way issues, problems in procurement and getting the right contractors to bid for the projects.

At the same time, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has yet to find a cure for the problems affecting existing railway systems like the MRT 3 which will undergo full rehabilitation under Japan-based Sumitomo Corp. next year.

Once the repairs start, there will only be 12 trains left to service nearly 350,000 riders, Tugade said, resulting in longer passenger lines and possibly, more service interruptions.

Stop-gap measure

As a stop-gap measure, the DOTr is thinking of fielding the 48 Dalian trains purchased under the previous administration, provided these undergo technical adjustments to make them compatible with the rest of the MRT 3 fleet. It has given the Chinese manufacturer until Aug. 20 to finish its assessment of the needed repairs.

Given delays in the implementation or completion of the traffic-alleviating projects, legislators are pushing for emergency powers for the President.

Under a bill which counts Sen. Grace Poe as one of its staunchest proponents, Mr. Duterte could exercise extreme measures to hasten infrastructure development, such as forgoing the bidding for transport-related projects. However, the President has appeared lukewarm to the proposal.

Stricter traffic enforcement

With long-term solutions currently in development limbo, government agencies have focused on enforcing discipline among motorists.

The Interagency Council on Traffic (i-Act), the superbody revived in 2016 by the DOTr to consolidate five traffic-related agencies, has since apprehended at least 2,470 “colorum” vehicles—way higher than the 1,744 units from 2011 to 2016.

The MMDA has also closed down the terminals of at least 20 bus companies on Edsa for failing to comply with antitraffic regulations.

Its no-contact apprehension policy also nets at least 60,000 erring motorists monthly.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), on the other hand, has asked the Metro Manila Council to ban tricycles as school service vehicles and keep them off national roads.

The LTFRB is also among the lead agencies in the jeepney modernization program which seeks to upgrade the King of Road into Euro-4 standards compliant or electric hybrid units.

While the DOTr targets a total of 2,000 modernized jeepneys by the end of the year, this could be delayed due to the lack of manufacturers and importers to produce the needed units. —WITH REPORTS FROM FATE COLOBONG AND IANNA AGUS