DAVAO City is not yet ready for the implementation of the High Priority Bus System (HPBS), a transport group opposing the city mass transportation project said.
Transmission-Piston (Piston) secretary general and Dabawenyo Kontra Jeepney Phaseout Coalition member Larry Arguelles said the city’s infrastructure facilities are not yet prepared.
“Kulang pa ang imprastraktura susama sa pagpalapad sa dalan, pasilidad susama sa mga bus stations, overpass, walking ug bike lanes (We are still lacking in terms of infrastructures such as wider roads, bus stations, overpass, walking and bike lanes),” Arguelles said in an interview on Tuesday, February 18.
Phasing out the public utility jeepneys (PUJs), according to him, won’t solve the worsening traffic condition in the city.
He said PUJs are not the main cause of traffic congestion of the city, since 80 percent of those plying the streets are private vehicles.
Instead of phasing out, Arguelles said the City Government should impose a number or color coding scheme.
Number coding or the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) is a road space rationing program in the Philippines that aims to reduce traffic congestion, in particular during peak hours, by restricting the types of vehicles that can use major public roads based on the final digit of the vehicle’s license plate.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, in a previous press conference, said she is open to the idea of implementing a coding scheme but only when the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) fails to decongest traffic.
Arguelles added the city should strictly impose traffic rules and regulations, road widening, and utilizing rivers or seas as a transportation route. He also said creating a train system could also address the congestion of vehicles in the streets.
“Ang pagdali-dali sa lokal nga gobyerno sa pagwagtang sa mga PUJ bisan kakulang sa kaandamon mopasamot lang sa kalisod ug kahasol ngadto sa katawhan (The government’s hasty move to phase out PUJs had resulted to its lack of preparedness for the implementation, which resulted to the inconvenience of the riding public),” he said.
“Tungod kay bus na og mas moderno, mas mahal na ang pamasahe kumpara sa jeep. Tungod kay matag 400 metros lang ang paghunong sa bus, kinahanglan nga mopamasahe na sab ang mga sumasakay sa laing sakyanan sama sa taxi ug tricyle padulong sa iyang destinasyon (Having a modernized bus system would be more expernsive compared to jeep. Since buses only stop every 400 meters, they would have to ride either taxi or tricycle just for them to reach their destination),” he added.
On Tuesday, February 18, the Dabawenyo Kontra Jeepney Phaseout Coalition was launched. It is a joint group of jeepney drivers and operators in Davao City along with different transport groups united to junk the HPBS implementation.
The coalition earlier said they will raise their plea to the City Council through Councilor Conrado Baluran, committee chairperson on transportation and communication. They hope the local legislative body will hear their concern of not phasing them out entirely since many drivers and operators will be affected.
While he said the coalition is not “anti-progress”, but he said the project will only benefit the business owners since the modernized bus system will be mannedby a single operator.
Arguelles said they will raise their protest to the national government if the city fails won’t take heed of their plight.
He also said they will also have a series of mass transportation strike to protest the HPBS.
City Assistant Administrator Tristan Dwight Domingo said in a recent press conference that there were some delays on its implementation, including the guidelines for the selection of bidders for the operation of HPBS.
Domingo also underscored the city’s firm action of replacing PUJs as Dabawenyos deserve an upgraded and convenient riding transportation.
He, however, said that all affected operators will be well-compensated.
The city, in coordination with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently organized a consultation dialogue and concerns regarding the proposed phase out was explained to them. The dialogue also discussed the city’s compensation packages to the affected drivers and operators.
Domingo said despite some delays, the first phase of HPBS, which is in Catalunan Grande, Toril, and Carlos P. Garcia National Highway (Diversion Road) will commence this year. (RGL)