King of the road or end of the road?

Surely, this whole sordid episode starring our much-lamented “king of the road” has become so burdensome and stressful for the general public. In transportation, it remains a hot button issue along with our breakdown-prone railway system (MRT-3) and EDSA “experiments” which require a good deal of patience, understanding, and compliance.

“Militant transport groups could stage strikes and protests all they want, but the Duterte administration’s jeepney modernization program would push through next year, (Department of) Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said yesterday,” reported Paolo Romero in The STAR recently.

Tugade has been consistently refuting the claims of some transport groups that the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) is “anti-poor.” The DOTr also put out a statement this month that, in fact, the program “will help improve and strengthen the public road transport sector.”

As the Secretary declared in Filipino during a recent MOU signing between the agency and the Development Bank of the Philippines, “We are finding ways to make jeepneys compliant with our program specifications so that livelihood can go hand in hand with our resposibility to the environment.”

Dissenting opinions assert that the program, expected to affect some 270,000 jeepneys and 650,000 drivers (according to the Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center [CBBRC]), will not help mitigate the onerous traffic problem as “jeepneys account for only two percent of Metro Manila’s vehicle population.”

The CBBRC continued on its website: “Anyone willing to purchase an e-jeep franchise should also (have) a market capitalization of at least P7 million and must have a fleet of 20 units. This means you need to invest as much as P30 million – effectively barring small and independent operators from maintaining a franchise.” The non-profit organization added that only “foreign corporations who monopolize the technology, as well as big corporations with deep pockets” can actually satisfy the requirments, and hence participate, in the program. The veritable monopolization is expected to drive up fare by at least 50 percent.

Local solution?

At last October’s Philippine Auto Parts Expo (PhilAPEX), some of the country’s auto parts and body manufacturers showed off their wares and, perhaps, offering  a glimpse of what can be. Sta. Rosa Motor Works, Inc., a member of Automotive Body Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (ABMAP), showcased its prototypes and interpretations of the modern, regulations-compliant jeepneys: the SR Jeep (Class ll) and the Modern PUV (Class lll)

In a release, SRMW VP Arnold Agbing said the Class III prototype “adheres (to) regulatory guidelines of the government in delivering safety, accessibility and comfort to the commuting public.”

How does the contemporary jeep stack up against the old-guard vehicles? Well, SRMW said its units are equipped with a third brake light, backup sensor, emergency hammer, fire extinguisher, daytime running lights, CCTV, dashcam, GPS tracking system, and speed limiter. In addition, it runs on a Euro 4-compliant platform, and has a tap-to-pay system. The jeepney can carry at least 22 front-facing passengers.

It also sports LED perimeter room lamps, LED signage, audio system, LED tail and headlights, and electric folder door; and can accommodate persons with disabilities. As for the look, the protoype pays homage to the classic jeepney look which, in turn, takes off from the World War II-era Jeep.

There’s still no word as to its sticker price, but suffice it to say that we need to pray for an ecosystem of financial support for operators and drivers to help make units such as as SRMW’s more easily accessible. This should end the discussion that this modernization program is anti-poor and pro big business. Still, jeepney operators and drivers need to open their eyes to the sorry state of many of the clunkers chugging their way on our roads—a real threat to life and limb.

Here’s wishing all parties agree on a solution that’s for the good of the majority. If there’s one thing painfully obvious it’s this: We needed our public transportation whipped into shape yesterday.