Truck ban not the solution to traffic woes —Almendras, private sector

With the port congestion now resolved, a government official and the private sector agreed that there should no longer be any truck ban.
 

Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras said a truck ban is not the solution to traffic problems caused by trucks going in and out of the ports. Instead, the solution lies in the discipline of drivers and an efficient truck dispatch system.

 

“My personal view—I know many people in the government, particularly the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), will not agree with me—(is that) there will be no need for a truck ban in the future if the truck dispatch system works well because it will naturally limit the flow of trucks in an efficient manner which is what we proved when we recommended a 24-hour single lane,” Almendras said in a Senate hearing last Thursday.

 

Christian Gonzalez, Asia Pacific head of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), shared the same sentiment.

 

“We should not have a truck ban. The trucking organizations have proven that their own discipline with the help of technology is actually beneficial to the flow of traffic, all kinds of traffic,” he said.

 

Almendras, chairman of the Cabinet cluster on port congestion, said when someone proposed that ports be removed from Manila, he explained to the leadership of the city that it is not a very good idea, explaining that is not how the city was born.

 

He further said that only one percent of the cargoes actually goes to the South or North Luzon and the huge volume is intended for Metro Manila, majority of which is actually for the city of Manila.

 

“(The solution is) the truck dispatch system and a more disciplined truck drivers’ cooperation, which by the way we have proven works. We are so happy that until now people still do the single file and it has become a way of life,” he said.

 

He said they had a hard time convincing local government officials to allow the 24-hour access of trucks to roads provided that they will occupy only a single lane.

 

“That was a big challenge when we were convincing the mayors to allow it but we sort of had a bet with the mayors that we can prove to you that we will stick to one lane and we will not disrupt traffic, then you allow us to move 24 hours, which is why we still have until today a 24-hour lane. We have proven the fact that we will not create traffic in the LGUs that are concerned,” he said.

 

The Manila local government ordered a daytime truck ban in the city in February last year to address traffic woes allegedly caused by 20,000 trucks entering the ports daily. Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada lifted the ban in September upon the appeal of Almendras and other government officials.

 

The National Economic and Development Authority said the government lost up to P70 billion due to port congestion.

 

Senator Bam Aquino, chairman of the committee on trade, commerce, and entrepreneurship, agreed with Almendras’ view.

 

“I agree completely. Once the booking system is operational, you are actually spreading out across 24 hours and seven days a week what previously was done five days a week within six hours of the day or even shorter. That should work,” he said. 

 

Gonzales said at the height of the port congestion, they had at least 44 vessels waiting to be picked up from between one to two days to 30 days but now there is no more waiting time.

 

Alberto Suansing, director of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines, said before the February 2014 truck, the period of engagement (the time a truck picks up and delivers container) is about 12 hours. A truck could thus do two trips in 24 hours.

 

“At the height of the congestion, the period of engagement is six and a half days, but now it is back to around 12 hours except for few instances where we have delays,” he told the committee. —KG, GMA News