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10_Lathalain_Public Transport_4Title: Wrong Way: Examining the public transport system in Metro Manila Miriam Miciano1168 words A familiar whirr reaches my ears and the crowd around me approaches the tracks in anticipation. Thetrain halts and opens its doors, and passengers anxiously get inside. I shove and get shoved despitehearing voices crying out their need to leave the train. Their voices were drowned, and claustrophobicbodies drenched in sweat tried to settle into a more comfortable position. I manage to squeeze myself in.This is everyday life, as many Metro Manila residents know it.I am inside the MRT.I remembered the time my brother told me about commuting in Singapore. Everything was organized:the public transport operation was island-wide, inexpensive and efficient. It was accessible to peoplefrom both working and middle classes. The same set of fare cards used in the train, taxis and buses inroutes and stops coordinated with each other. Struggling to keep myself in place, I wondered why our government can’t provide us w ith the public transport system we deserve to have. Roadblock Every day, Noel Capistrano, a construction worker, travels from Cubao to Espana, using up a sizeablechunk of his daily wage for his jeepney and LRT fares . “Minsan, nilalakad ko na lang sa halip na mag - jeep. Para may pambaon na din mga anak ko. Tapos LRT na lang kahit masikip sa dami ng kasabay napasahero; mahirap din kasi mag- bus, kapag nasiraan, malelate ka pa sa trabaho,” he shrugged. But fare hikes are looming . DOTC’s plans for a P25 increase in MRT/LRT fare were first slated in January2011, “to lessen government subsidy on transportation”, and was raised during this year’s State of the Nation Address. Whether ordinary commuters could afford it is the question, since a Mega Manila PublicTransport Study conducted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), disclosed that 68.1percent of LRT/MRT users during weekdays earn below P 10,000 per month and a significant 15.3percent earn nothing at all, mostly consisting of students, senior citizens and the unemployed. “ The MRT and the LRT has the sufficient income to maintain, improve and expand operations. The realcost of a single ride ticket, which already covers the maintenance and operation, is only P9.50.Collections exceeding this amount go directly to payment of debts incurred by the train lines. This is anunjust burden to commuters," militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) secretary generalRenato Reyes Jr. further explains.The metro bus system has its own share of flaws. For instance, Kat, who goes to Makati everyday fromSandigan, Quezon City, leaves at 6:30 in the morning to arrive at her workplace by 9, which means she spends about five hours on the road each day. “Grabeng sikip ng traffic sa EDSA tuwing rush hour, taposdalawang lane lang ang nagagamit ng buses, the rest ay para sa mga private cars na.” Meanwhile, Joshua, who travels from Cavite to UP every week, suffers greatly because of EO 67, a trafficscheme restricting the entry of provincial buses and FX taxis from EDSA. “Pahirap kasi doble pasahe pa. Imbes na makakasakay na ako ng bus mula MRT, magjijeep pa ako. At pagdating sa terminal sa CoastalMall, napaka-congested dahil makikipot ang mga daan at sobrang liit ng espasyo para sa daan-daang bus na papasok mula sa highway.” Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) claims to have imposed the scheme to lessentraffic congestion. But National Center for Commuter Safety and Protection (NCCSP) president ElvieMedina disagrees with EO 67. “Provincial buses, which constitute about 6 percent of overall vehiculartraffic along EDSA, are not the problem. Because there is no effort to really analyze what causes MetroManila traffic, schemes like these will fail and will cause inconvenience every single day .” Under construction In 2011, the Aquino administration had defended the plan to increase MRT and LRT fares, saying peoplefrom the provinces must not subsidize a service that caters only to Metro Manila residents. In response,Sen. Ralph Recto explains that national coffers are for everybody to benefit from, choosing no place aslong as it helps the marginalized.In fact, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board, NCR residents pay the highest tax ratesper capita in the Philippines, and a fraction of this goes to financial assistance to the provinces foragricultural development projects, as well as financial assistance during calamities, among other needs. BAYAN’s Reyes, furthermore, asserts that “The administration should not consider as losses the subsidies it provides to LRT/MRT users. Instead, these must be deemed public investment that will provide the economy and its human resources new or additional capacity.” Militant transport group PISTON pointed to the governmen t’s bias to wards the privileged in craftingpublic transport policies. "Klaro na elitista, anti-poor at anti-people ang patakaran ng MMDA. Nais langnilang paluwagin ang trapiko sa Kamaynilaan para sa kapa kanan ng mga pribadong motorista.” “Nililimitahan o tuluyang inaalis ng gobyerno sa kalsada ang mga pampublikong sasakyang ginagam it ng80% ng ating mga kababayang manggagawa, magsasaka, maralita, government employees atestudyante. Interes ng mayayaman at makapangyarihang minorya ang kanilang pinoprotektahan sakapinsalaan ng mayorya ng mga karaniwang commuters, ” says PISTON national president George SanMateo. Keep right Through an ideal public transport system, people will become more mobile and more productive, as most of the working class use public transport. This is why, San Mateo explains, “PISTON is fighting for a nationaliz ed, modern, efficient, safe and affordable mass transport system.”“Ito ang maglilikha ng kondisyon para ang mga middle class na private motorists ay ma -engganyo namag-commute, sa halip na gamitin ang kanilang mga pribadong sasakyan. This way, ma-rereduce nanghusto ang mga private motorists sa kalsada. (This means) more stable jobs for jeepney drivers and better situations for commuters,” he adds. Medina, for her part, suggests a unified scheme for buses going to and from, and within NCR, as well asmo re expansive road networks. “As trains have the most efficient means and highest people capacity to transport people, the ideal public transport is largely dedicated to first getting people into the trainnetwork, and then have buses and jeeps efficiently assist them to their final destinations.” San Mateo agrees and adds that “the government should have located strategic bus terminals within Metro Manila so that passengers will not take another ride to their respective destinations.” They must also analyze their schemes, like the yellow lane and the bus ban policy, and address of their lack of preparedness and study, he says.I remember having read Colombian politician Enrique Peñalosa ’s words of wisdom: "A developedcountry is not a place where the poor have cars; it’s where the rich ride public transportation." I look around me. People shoving, squirming uncomfortably, some standing still, resigned to their fates. I thinkof the impending fare hikes, the inefficient policies, and the administration that appears to be biasedtowards the privileged. And I shake my head.We still have a long way to go.
