Motorists urged to bring 1-liter bottle when gassing up

MANILA, Philippines — A transport group official on Thursday called on public utility vehicle drivers and private vehicle owners to bring with them a one liter bottle to ensure that they get the right amount of fuel when gassing up at gas stations. Obet Martin, president of Pasang Masda, a moderate jeepney drivers and operators group based in Metro Manila, urged motorists to bring the container to see if the amount of fuel pumped into the motor vehicles is accurate. "With the continuing increase of petroleum products, we should find ways to ease the burden of the ordinary motorists," Martin told the weekly Usapang Daungan sa Danarra Hotel media forum in Quezon City. Martin said his proposal was prompted by the proliferation of gas stations in the metropolis that have not regularly calibrating their gas pumps. "There have been several gas stations in Metro Manila, particularly in Quezon City, which have been found out that have not been pumping the right amount of fuel by the local government," the Pasang Masda head noted. Earlier, Mayor Feliciano “Sonny" Belmonte has ordered the temporary closure of several gas stations whose pumps and gasoline meters have not been properly calibrated. Martin said that it would be wise for drivers to find means to save on their gas consumption. He added that it is far from their members and their group to stage another transport strike despite the skyrocketing prices of petroleum products. "We understand that these things are dictated by the global market that’s why we don’t resort to transport strike. We just find ways to reduce our energy consumption," Martin said. Meanwhile, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando said his agency has been looking at increasing the travel speed of motorists along Efipanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) by 10 kilometers per hour. Fernando said the savings of motorists on fuel consumption will translate to P30 billion yearly. He said that they are now gathering information and figures from their database for the organized bus route (OBR) scheme to further fine tune its operation. The OBR scheme was conceptualized by the MMDA to rationalize the dispatch of public utility buses to ease the traffic flow in major thoroughfares in the metropolis, starting with EDSA. Fernando said they are in the stage of installing cameras in the loading and unloading platforms along the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, which has been identified as one of the so-called “discipline zones." "It is not yet open to the public vehicles because we are still preparing these platforms for the commuters to use," the MMDA head said. And to further ease the traffic snarls, Fernando said they have already designated eight loading and unloading bays for provincial buses along EDSA. (PNA)