Redemption

Mega Manila is competitive only for the dubious title of having the worst traffic in the world. Much as our officials might try to downplay this, commuters know the score. It is hardly possible to plan one’s day in this urban tangle using public transport.

I was born in this city. I take pride in knowing all its nooks and crannies, to slither about getting to where I want to go. Today, all that home course knowledge is gone. Traffic is constantly tied up in knots.

There used to be a certain rhythm in the way things moved in this urban tangle. One could correctly anticipate when traffic flow along Edsa would be least congested or how much time it will take to get from one point to another and back. That is not possible now.

It is not only traffic flow that has reached crisis levels. Partly as a consequence of slow movement in the streets, transport options increasingly narrow.

Forget about the MRT-3. This system was a failure from the start. Until we are able to reduce interval times between trains to two minutes, this system contributes to the problem instead of solving it. In its present state, that interval time will never be achieved. Being so badly designed, the stations will be as inaccessible as ever.

The only way to save our commuter rail system from its present state is to privatize it completely. Our conglomerates have grown such financial clout this becomes thinkable.

The only real addition to our urban road space is the Skyway, which San Miguel built after a decade of delay due to bureaucratic resistance. San Miguel is proposing building a second level on Edsa with Lego-like components that may be snapped into place quickly. Our bureaucrats would have nothing of it.

So far, the only redemption that has come for our beleaguered commuters comes in the form of Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS). This involves coupling rapid digital information technologies with actual transport assets on the road. This produces vastly improved efficiency.

The benefits from TNVS have been delayed – again, by an immovable bureaucracy. For years, our transport authorities have been “studying” the service to no end. They have restricted the number of companies that may