How can mass transportation shift into a 'better normal'? Urban planner suggests a trial run of 'service contracting' in Metro Manila

Published June 02, 2020 03:57 PM By JESSICA BARTOLOME,GMA News

It is slowly sinking in the light of the coronavirus pandemic that things will never be the same again.

So instead of waiting to go back to the old normal, why not use this period to shift to a better normal?

This is what urban planner Benjie de la Pen?a discussed in a livestream on Tuesday with PumaPodcast and Asia Society Philippines

; specifically, how Metro Manila can use the general community quarantine to experiment with a different transportation system model.

What De la Peña is proposing is for the government to adapt the service contracting concept. Essentially, the government will have to subsidize all of NCR's public utility vehicles (PUVs) during GCQ. With their wages covered, drivers will not be tempted to "overcrowd" their vehicles in order to earn more, ensuring that proper social distancing is observed by passengers.

Additionally, it will ensure that there is enough public transportation running for the commuters who have to go to work under GCQ.

Currently, the business model of the country's transportation system is based on volume. "Paramihan ng pasahero. Every other bus on the road is your competition. Every other jeep is your competition," de la Peña said.

"'Yun 'yung behavior ng system and it's very precarious. 'Yung kita mo is whatever's above the boundary [that] you have to pay your operator."

He added that after this "transition period," the government must then adapt the service contracting business model long-term.

According to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LFRB), the concept of service contracting is not new. 

"The concept is not new and the concept is welcome," said LTFRB NCR director Atty. Zona Tamayo. But its possibility is "something we'll have to see when we try to implement that kind of model." 

She added that it is similar to LTFRB's shuttle services, which are run by transport providers with an existing franchise with the LTFRB.

She assured that the LTFRB is using the current situation to "upgrade or level up" public transportation.

"It is the time to introduce something new sa public transportation...maraming kino-consider, bottomline is we really have to improve. And we want to improve public transport," she said.

Operators' reaction

Tamayo said that after meeting with transport operators about route rationalization, an initiative which aims to decongest traffic, they were met with "questions and apprehensions."

"We cannot blame them naman po, because they've been doing this for the past 30 years...introducing something new in terms of how they're going to earn is really challenging," she said.

"It's going to be a challenge because we're talking here of different types of transportation...on the part of LTFRB marami kaming kailangan kausapin," she added.

De la Peña, who is also part of the Move As One Coalition, said that labor and transportation leaders have expressed support because "they know the system has to get better."

"They're all for it, but they want a just transition. Hindi pwedeng sila na nga ang nagseserbisyo, tapos sila pa ang magke-carry ng lahat ng risk," he said.

Reasonable price tag?

De la Peña calculated that a trial run of service contract in Metro Manila for a period of three months would cost the government a little less than P32 billion.

Asked if this was a reasonable price tag, Finance Asec. Tony Lambino said they have to be "very pragmatic."

"Any deficit is funded through borrowing. That will be paid by us in the future, and the future generations," he said.

"The price tag for a Metro Manila experiment is something I guess we'll really need to chew on in terms of not just the cost but the benefits it will bring to the community and the public," he added. 

However, he agreed that such proposals should be considered, and not just proposals surrounding Metro Manila.

"One of the thrusts is the Balik Probinsya. We also do want to decongest through getting people to leave and have better options in the provinces, not just the highly urban areas," he said.

Lambino admitted that in the past years, the government has been "underinvesting in infrastructure."

He assured that "investments have been made," but it wouldn't be felt until years to come. One of these is Metro Manila's subways.

"That is breaking ground already, however, the trains will not be operational right away," he said.

De la Peña meanwhile pointed out that transportation investments are often made with the hopes that they will solve traffic.

"it doesn't solve traffic, it's not meant to solve traffic. We...think it will solve traffic rather than putting the needs of the commuters first in designing the system so it serves...certain people but not the rest of the city," he said.

"We have to think of the whole system," he added.

Metro Manila was eased to general community quarantine on June 1. As many citizens went back to work, they were faced with transportation problems.

Many were stranded because there were no jeepneys on the road, while others waited in line for hours to get on the trains. This is because the trains have adapted regulations to ensure social distancing as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to threaten the country. — LA, GMA News

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