Now that classes have reopened, expect public rides to once again become difficult, leading to the often inevitable problem of overloading on buses and jeepneys. Commuters are all too familiar with the insufferable routine. Each day seems like a challenge at getting a ride that’s comfortable enough before one reaches a destination.
The calvary is especially worse during rush hours. From 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and around 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily, buses and jeepneys look like overstuffed matchboxes.
This sad state of affairs is not entirely lost on the government. Aware of commuters’ sufferings, transportation agencies have gone against overloading in line with what is referred to as the anti-sardinas policy, likening the stressful passenger situation to a tightly-packed can of sardines.
But the agencies can only do so much. Besides, the lack of public utility vehicles (PUVs) must really be so severe that passengers themselves are willing to ride while standing up all throughout their trips just so that they can get to their destinations quickly.
At the crux of the matter is the absence of an efficient high-capacity mass transport system, something that Cebu City’s Bus Rapid Transit originally aimed at but fell short of due to politically motivated interventions under the previous administration.
Fortunately, there is an ongoing effort by transport planners to recalibrate the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP). There are two important points in this effort, namely: road decongestion and increased passenger capacity of PUVs.
One focus of this PTMP recalibration is the multicab, that ubiquitous mini-jeepney in Cebu ingeniously baptized as the Filcab. Smaller and less costly than a jeepney, it was originally meant as an alternative to tricycles. Back in the late ‘80s, transport planners deemed that with their dimensions which are suitable for smaller roads, Filcabs would eventually outcompete and drive out tricycles.
But nothing of that sort happened. In fact, both Filcabs and tricycles simply co-existed side by side and, by their sheer number, made roads even tighter than ever. Worse, many Filcabs have taken over long-distance routes originally served by regular jeepneys. So instead of helping ease up road use, they may have worsened congestion by increasing the number of public transport units.
So now, planners are looking at substituting Filcabs with the bigger Modern Public Utility Jeepneys (MPUJs). But will the replacement be on a per-unit basis? If so, wouldn’t it be ineffective in helping alleviate road congestion at all?
An idea that’s being put forward is that one MPUJ would replace at least two Filcabs. One MPUJ unit has a capacity of 24 seated passengers while a Filcab can accommodate 14 passengers. Considering that MPUJs are allowed to have a few standing passengers on board, one such unit can therefore fit more than twice the seating capacity of Filcabs.
The measure is in its planning stage yet, but the prospects are feasibly bright. Instead of widening roads which require huge public funds due to the high cost of right-of-way acquisition aside from the usual years-long delays of expropriating private lots, reducing the number of vehicles on the road without sacrificing passenger seats sounds like a better proposition.
We hope that public transport planners will continue to come up with workable solutions that don’t strain government resources. It’s definitely still a long shot, but solving the problems of overloaded PUVs and road congestion starts with ideas that are as sound and practical as this.
