Management and supervision won’t do
AFTER one week of traffic management by HPG, the chaos on EDSA has seen little change. We need to appreciate unsolicited suggestions that the following factors may deserve blame: 1) Metro Manila’s population should include those coming in from the provinces for a brief stay via RORO buses and boats from the Visayas and Mindanao; 2) more and more people entering Metro Manila need buses, trains, and various vehicles for hire.
Very poor maintenance
The MRT and LRT trains are too old, which explains the frequent breakdowns. Add to the trains’ age their poor maintenance. Let’s also count that spare parts, the important ones, should be identified and be ready in stock when needed.
Fast trains in 1892
We find it hard to accept that in 1892, when very few of us could be called pedestrians/travellers, the Spanish government had built a railway for passengers from Manila to Dagupan and back. One of the passengers in July, 1892, was Jose Rizal who left Europe and Hong Kong for good. Spanish spies also travelled with Rizal, and our hero was arrested in Manila and exiled to Dapitan. One British engineer who supervised building the railway was attracted to Leonor Rivera whom he married. This broke our hero’s heart years earlier.
Railway after 1898
Only travel by train can save us from traffic nightmares every day. Before December, 2015, our national population may hit 101m plus, but let’s wait for the official announcement from the census officials who are now compiling all counts from all towns and barangays nationwide.
The train station at Tutuban is probably the successor to the Spanish railway system after 1898. But the PNR was never given much importance to improve services. This could have started a railway network in Metro Manila and the entire Luzon. With railroad and trains taking people fast to work, our economists could start counting the billions in gains to the national economy and GDP.
Not too late
It’s not too late now to let PNR operate like a true railway transport system, to take the place of hundreds of buses that enter Metro Manila from the northern and southern tips of Luzon. If the full stretch of EDSA and other major roads have an efficient railway transport system from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day of the year, our public officials’ stress and anxiety will find an automatic cure.
No more sidewalk vendors
With the flow of traffic easily controlled, accidents, kotong, and road rage resulting in fatalities won’t be headline materials on TV, radio, and the print media. Sidewalk vendors, without people/passengers passing them, will be forced to transfer to clean stalls in the public market.
PUJs will not block corners to wait for barkers and passengers and PU buses will observe a few rules like loading passengers at bus stops.
The mystery
Who’s paying the loans for the socalled Northrail project we cannot see as of today? And how many squatters were benefitted by so many fees to relocate them?
Let DOJ and the Ombudsman find out. (Comments are welcome at roming@pefianco.com).