Philippines
/ Metro Manila / Transport
Traffic is
one of the major problems of the metropolis. According to the
Philippine Daily Inquirer, of October 10, 1989, "the trouble with
traffic is that you have 40 percent of all vehicles in this country
in Metro Manila with a terrific concentration in the business-commercial
district." And the paper notes in its issue of January 5, 1990,
that "for about 5.5 million daily commuters in Metro Manila and
an additional two million migrant workers from nearby provinces,
getting rides on scarce buses and jeepneys is a daily ordeal.
Eight years ago, it took an average of only 30 minutes for a commuter
to get a ride during the rush hours. According to a survey of
the Department of Tansportation and Communication, it now takes
one hour to two hours for a commuter to get a ride." Senator Victor
Ziga once observed that "helpless thousand of commuters from all
sectors were stranded for hours, unable to get rides, spilling
into the already narrow thoroughfares jostling each other to cling
to already full buses and jeepneys as if clinging to life itself."
The source
of the problem is possibly a sharp decline in the number of public
utility vehicles and at the same time an increased population
and a higher flexibility of the inhabitants of Metro Manila. According
to the Philippine Daily Inquirer of January 5, 1990, "the past
year saw three big bus companies, in a span of three months, close
shop because of rising operational costs and labor problems. Transport
officials have cited low returns as the principal cause of the
decline in bus units from 5,000 in 1981 to the present 2,000 units."
One particular
traffic problem in Metro Manila is air pollution from vehicles.
It seems that it's not mainly the number of vehicles aggravating
this problem but the condition of the vehicles; many are not only
old but also do not have their engines adjusted properly which
makes them terrible smoke belchers (and increases their operation
costs). The authorities have started several times a drive against
smoke belchers but a result can hardly be noticed.
Anyway, at
least the campaign seems to help fill up the city coffers: "Despite
the reported irregularities that plagued the government's anti-smoke-belching
campaign in Metro Manila, the authorities managed to apprehend
5,492 smoke-belching vehicles and collected P950,000 in fines
for the month of August alone, the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources said... Since the campaign was intensified in
June, Dayrit said, 13,568 smoke-belching vehicles have been apprehended
compared to 3,914 from January to May 1989. Total for 1989 stands
at 17,482 while collection in fines now total P3.5 million" (Daily
Globe, September 9, 1989)
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