Abrigo: Davao’s new king of the road

Abrigo: Davao’s new king of the road

FARSIGHTED to the imminent traffic congestion of the city, Davao is implementing the first phase of its High Priority Bus System (HPBS) program. Through this project, Davao will be the first metropolitan in the south to phase out the jeepney as king of the road and replace with the literally handsome juggernauts.

There are 24 buses for the interim phase, now plying in its maiden loop from and to Catalunan Grande. It has a low-floor design and very friendly for the senior citizens, pregnant and persons with disabilities.

Precisely, with the HPBS, we will be traveling no delay at the intersections because all busses are equipped with sensors unified to the traffic signalization system. Whenever the bus approaches the junction, in a wink of an eye, the system will shift prerogative in favor to the approaching unit, thus the name HPBS.

By the year 2022, this program will earmark 990 buses for 29 routes in the city currently served by about 8,000 jeepneys. Imagine how methodical the city roads would be with thousands of jeepneys interweaving the lanes today that will be reduced to only few hundreds, two years from now. Wow!

This program will also generate 10,000 jobs by 2021, giving preference to the operators and drivers that will be ostracized with this transport modernization program. Part of the program is to professionalize the workforce by employing about 1,000 drivers; all must be passers of the bus driving accreditation exams to be conducted by the Tesda. The others will be accommodated as mechanics and maintenance-related jobs.

The good news is that all employees will work with regular compensation plus perks, no longer to the traditional boundary system. The city is also setting aside P45 million to provide “outright cash” support for the affected drivers during the transition, especially to those who will not qualify with the age requirements or fail in the Tesda certification.

HPBS is a priority project of Mayor Sara Duterte, crafted by the Asian Development Bank with a memorandum of agreement signed between the national government and the ADB. While waiting for the national budget, the city utilizes the support funds from the Department of Transportation (DoTr) amounting to P200million for the initial phase.

This is a praiseworthy project for the common good. But would this pull a wagon for the general public acceptance? Probably not especially to the operators; this is a regretful tidal wave that will flush out the established sentimental implications to the assets they painfully acquired. They are undecided to vend and trade the outdated jeepney at salvage value. But be that as it may, the operators should take hook, line and sinker to be a proud Dabawenyo, after all, life is here.

abrigodann@gmail.com

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