Traffic in the first hundred days

Today marks the first one hundred days of the Duterte administration. Cabinet secretaries will produce long lists of accomplishments but only a few things matter to people… traffic, for one.

Traffic is the elephant in the room, so to speak, but the long list of hundred day accomplishments of the Transport department didn’t say much about it. They couldn’t… it is still pretty much the same.

Part of the problem is the absence of emergency powers. Congress is still discussing it. But more than that, government is simply not organized to deal with the traffic problem in a way that may produce some improvements.

Last Aug. 17, I wrote a column that pointed out this organizational problem. No one is legally on top of solving the traffic problem. The various agencies nibbling at the problem are doing their own thing. Their walkie talkies and other facilities are not even compatible. No one is conducting the orchestra.

I wrote then that on top of their agenda should be simple enough: organize to start addressing the problem. President Duterte must make it clear Transport Secretary Arturo Tugade is responsible for the traffic problem by issuing an executive order designating the Transport chief as the traffic management czar.

Why is this official designation important? It is because Tugade doesn’t have the legal mandate, nor does he have the organization as Transport Secretary to deal with Metro Manila’s traffic problem. That mandate is provided by law to MMDA, an agency not exactly respected by Metro Manila’s 17 mayors who all have their own traffic enforcement ideas.

The day the column was published, Tugade organized the i-Act (InterAgency Council on Traffic) that consolidated MMDA, HPG, LTO, LTFRB into one traffic command. Theoretically, even MMDA enforcers must take orders from HPG, as task force head. From the looks of it, the approach isn’t yet working that well.

They have a litany of problems. MMDA traffic aides are largely untrained. I heard they have no raincoats, no boots which explains why they melt away when it rains. HPG is undermanned. They have a national mandate and can only assign so many troopers to handle EDSA traffic. And the traffic problem is beyond EDSA.

They are unable to implement the plan to divide EDSA into 10 traffic zones — no budget, no manpower, no logistics. As Waze users will tell you, many alternate routes are yet to be cleared of obstructions. LGUs are collecting on-street parking fees and are reluctant to let go. The unified traffic center can’t be implemented without legal authority.

The Transport department’s origin-destination study done in 2014 has produced no useful analytical data, according to insiders. Such data are needed to rationalize bus routes and deployment. In any case, even if they had such data, they claim they don’t have the power to rationalize bus franchises and service.

Sure, they have introduced such solutions as the P2P buses designed to lure motorists out of their cars. But I am not sure they are doing a good job of selling the option. Maybe the fares are too high or maybe people just don’t know where and when to catch it.

 The P2P can work. I remember taking the Love Bus many years ago. The car would drop me off at the Cubao station, I would take the Love Bus to the Ayala station near Rustan’s.

I don’t think they have as many P2Ps as the Love Buses to make it really convenient. And because the P2Ps are privately run, more people must use these buses or the concept will fail. The Love Bus was government owned.

The real solution is rail mass transport but expect nothing good to happen until 3Q next year by the DOTr’s own reckoning. I doubt if things will improve significantly by then. They need really bold solutions. As for PNR, it is as if it doesn’t exist.

 One of the accomplishments claimed by DOTr I wrote about last Wednesday generated a protest from two of my readers. Reader Artemio Tipon wrote: “Have you really seen the public toilets at ground level at Terminal 2 and 3? They still stink like before!”

On the other hand, Herbert Pohlman’s reaction is as follows: “The airport improvements you just wrote about are good news, but more still needs to be done. I arrived in Terminal 3 on Delta from the US on Aug. 4 and after a pleasant immigration experience went down to baggage claim aiming for the close by men’s room.  All three urinals were blocked off with beat up looking tarp and tape (still 3rd world?). There was a line as we waited our turn for one of the working toilet stalls. Wonder how many weeks the urinals had been useless and if they still are?”

I am sorry I gave DOTr and the airlines responsible for rest room maintenance the benefit of the doubt. I have not traveled in two months and I should have cross checked with friends who have. So there… I suspect Tugade was as misinformed as I was.

Other 100 days accomplishments claimed by DOTr include the following:

One Stop Shop for OFWs opened and launched in Clark to support OFW movements and improve service at the Clark International Airport.

This is a good way of decongesting NAIA by giving the airlines reason to schedule some of their flights at Clark. Two Middle Eastern airlines are now flying to Clark. But Clark will not attract more airlines until it upgrades its facilities. Basic stuff like the passenger stairs and refueling facilities are still lacking.

Another accomplishment claimed by DOTr: Started government to government (G2G) negotiations for printing of driver’s licenses and possibly car plates.

This is nice to hear but, given how long we have waited for our driver’s licenses and car plates, not nearly good enough. Making the effort is nice but only results can be counted as accomplishments.

I realize there is a Supreme Court injunction on the car plates. Is there an effort to petition the SC to speed up this case? The system of “do it yourself car plates” we now have is a serious security risk which I believe even the SC will recognize.

Other accomplishments claimed have to do with the department’s anti corruption drive. Two LTO regional directors relieved and 16 others are being investigated for corruption. Also, 30 LTFRB personnel terminated, resigned and retired due to corruption issues.

These are all very good news. But a cynical public will measure success or failure based on experience transacting with these agencies. Are the fixers finally out of every LTO office? Fighting corruption is a never ending battle.

In the meantime, here are the apprehension statistics claimed by DOTr:

Total traffic rules violators apprehended as of Sept 30,: 171,550, (28,064 of which are in Metro Manila, and 143,323 are in the regions); illegal parking —  5,013; obstruction, disregarding traffic signs, loading and unloading in prohibited zones and other traffic rules violations  —  165,275 ( 21,789 of which are in MM ànd 143,486 are in the regions); colo?um — 310 (147 in MM and 163 in the regions); sidewalk vendors — 1,115.

Sec. Tugade seems to be one of the more hardworking Cabinet members. He starts his day early and ends it close to midnight. But the Abaya crew also put in long hours with legendary meetings that lasted until midnight and produced little results. I am sure Tugade knows when he was a private entrepreneur… what matters is the result, not how many hours one puts in.

The Transport bureaucracy must learn to operate by that strong results orientation that made Art Tugade successful when he was in the private sector. It is as simple as that.

In the next 100 days, Tugade and his team must start making big and difficult decisions on rails, traffic and other infra. Hopefully, they will prove themselves better than the Abaya team. 

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.