This is a petition to solve the traffic mess at EDSA by lessening the lanes allotted for private cars along the said highway. Currently, only one to two lanes are allotted for buses along EDSA, the rest are for private cars. According to NEDA, 78% of the road space is taken by private vehicles (http://faq.ph/facts-about-traffic-in-metro-manila-that-you-should-know/). This does not make sense considering majority of those who travel are commuters. And since there are much more commuters compared to those who have private cars, and since cars are much less efficient compared to buses (private cars usually carry one to two passengers only while buses could easily carry fifty passengers per trip), I am making a petition for the government to allot at least 50% of EDSA for buses. Thus, where there are five lanes in EDSA, public buses should occupy three. Where there are three lanes in EDSA, public buses should occupy two. According to the LTFRB, we actually need more buses (http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/06/16/16/ltfrb-chair-ginez-we-need-more-buses). Observe how the buses (and the trains) are filled almost to their doors during rush hours. Observe how many people wait for buses during rush hours. We also need provincial buses to pass thru EDSA. Commuters from Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and other nearby passengers need this. Banning provincial buses along EDSA will result to an additional transfer for commuters which force or encourage them to buy or bring their cars. Imagine if the government’s plan to ban provincial buses along EDSA gets fully implemented: more people will be affected; commuting from the provinces would be much more difficult. Additional transfer means more waiting time so the commuter’s travel time becomes longer. It also means more inconvenience. Even the slightest rain could make transfers so inconvenient as you (or your clothes, bag or shoes) get wet. Uneven roads could easily soak your shoes! If it’s not raining, you get exposed to heat, humidity and pollution. Last but not least, it would make transportation expenses higher as the commuters would need to pay the minimum fare twice. Although they call it “seamless transfer”, it really is nothing but transfer. Banning provincial buses along EDSA is a solution to favor the private car owners. It is not a solution for the greater majority.

Buses always get blamed for the traffic at EDSA – even if they occupy only one to two lanes. Last year, 284,436 or 77.36% of the 367,675 EDSA volume of vehicles were cars. Only 14,384 or 3.91% were public buses (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/577098/news/specialreports/obstructions-make-some-metro-manila-roads-disappear Thus, even if we lessen the number buses, there won’t be any significant improvement in traffic. As pointed out earlier, it could even make traffic worse as smaller vehicles (privately owned and colorum vans) will increase.

Imagine if three out of five lanes are allotted for buses. Imagine, too, if traffic rules – especially on loading and unloading – are implemented. This would make buses move faster. More people would be encouraged to leave their cars at home and use the buses instead. Imagine if we could give the same priority we gave the APEC delegates to the public buses and make the private cars stay in their lanes… private car owners would be highly encouraged to use the buses.

Allotting less lanes for private cars may make their travel time longer, while those of who commute would have a shorter travel time. This is actually a good idea. It is one way we lessen the gap between the rich and the poor; it is one way of letting more people share the road and not make it almost exclusive to the rich.

Once this is done, I hope the segregation of lanes would also be strictly implemented. At no point should a private car be inside the yellow lane. At no point should a public bus be outside the yellow lane. It is unfortunate that we cannot have a “shoot to kill” law for private car drivers who go inside the yellow lane and for public bus drivers who go out. But maybe we can have stiffer penalties: their licenses should be cancelled or suspended. Let’s avoid the monetary penalties as the rich people can pay the fines. They are not afraid to violate rules.

It would also be good if the public would be vigilant of traffic enforcers who do not enforce the law. If they see private cars in yellow lanes or public buses outside the yellow lanes but traffic enforcers do nothing, the public should document the incident by taking a picture or a video of it so they could report the incident and let the enforcer be sanctioned. The same is true for other traffic violations: like public buses unloading in places where unloading is not allowed.

If only it is possible, I hope we could have a two year moratorium wherein traffic enforcers will have no monthly salary. Instead they will be paid based on the apprehensions they make. They will earn a lot more. Those who do nothing, should earn nothing- as they deserve.

The lifting of the number coding window or the bringing back of the odd even scheme may not actually work as people would only tend to buy extra cars so it won't reduce car volume by 20% (and even if it does, it still won't be enough considering the size of EDSA and the volume of the private cars). The moratorium on car sales may not be a good idea since private car owners also use their cars in in places other than EDSA. However, if we limit the lanes for private cars… no matter how many cars people buy, they will not fill EDSA and public transport will become a more viable option to traverse EDSA. If they still want to use their cars, they can leave their homes early or take alternate routes which buses cannot do.

I hope the president could take the traffic problem seriously. If he has will to solve the traffic (at least close to his will to solve the drug problem), then he would be able to do it. He would not need to wait long or spend too much. He may not actually need emergency powers.

Of course our long term goal is country side development. This solves not only the traffic problem but a lot more. But for now, while we are developing the provinces, while we are building roads and railways, we can start by coming up with policies that can be easily implemented. Solving the traffic is not that hard. Our government officials keep saying that public transport should be encouraged and prioritized. I believe this is the way their action can match their words.