Inclusive mobility should prevail

This is probably a reprise of a few things I’ve written during the last two years in a pandemic but there is a need to review on this issue amidst the continuing saga of management (or mismanagement) as COVID-19 takes its twists and turns of variant after variant. After all, the goal of inclusive mobility remains the same, regardless of how many variants we may have – mobility, and if possible, accessibility, for all. Especially for all social classes of people.

Let’s look back at what happened during the first days of the pandemic. Immediately public transport was curtailed. Not so much with private cars as most of the exempted – government officials and employees, APORs, frontliners, and those included as part of the pandemic management, were allowed to continue using private cars. Restrictions were eased up later, with social distancing. But for the most part in 2020, only people with cars can move, others can’t, or have to walk. Biking became a fad as a result.

But this was grossly disadvantageous to people without cars, who comprise the vast majority of our population. The danger posed in public transportation was indeed real as public means there is greater aggrupation of people, but the discrimination was real, too. While this was eased up later by allowing public transport to return with social distancing, capacities were severely curtailed. Not to mention that certain practices were imposed which were later found out to be not only ineffective but dangerous and induced infection (like plastic passenger barriers and the motorcycle barrier shields). The transportation and mobility aspects of our pandemic management leave much to be desired, if not in a sorry state.

Now comes this knee-jerk policy on barring unvaccinated persons from public transportation. Now, mind you me, but I believe in vaccination, including against COVID-19; I agree and support everybody who don’t have any valid medical reason not to be vaccinated, should be vaccinated; and I am of the opinion that general and public welfare supersedes private rights in the public domain. So, I support public policy on separating the vaccinated from the unvaccinated in any public sphere. But let everyone do what they want to do in their private spheres. But let public policy be inclusive!

Inclusive means the opposite of exclusive, everything should be fair, most especially in the realm of economic and social status. While public transport is what it is – “public,” meaning available to everybody, all of us know that the vast majority of public transport commuters are people without cars. Thus, establishing a policy effective only for public transport is “exclusive” because it allows unvaccinated people who own cars absolute mobility while penalizing unvaccinated people who do not own cars by barring them mobility!

Besides, it’s an enforcement nightmare, delays trips, and creates unnecessary, artificial crowding at checkpoints which invites more infection. If the goal is to encourage vaccination, there are better ways. Continue and enforce preventing unvaccinated people from public crowded places – rich or poor. But not on public transportation only – because you’re targeting only people who generally don’t own cars. Is this what DOTr wants to do? Give special privileges to car owners? That is not inclusive mobility.