Minority lawmakers: Deploying more jeepneys, buses will help commuters, not cable cars

The government should fix mass transportation woes by providing more public utility vehicles such as jeepneys and buses instead of venturing into cable cars, minority lawmakers at the House of Representatives said Wednesday.

Gabriela party-list Representative Arlene Brosas and Agri party-list Representative Wilbert Lee made the call in response to the suggestion of Senator Robin Padilla to use cable cars to ease traffic woes in Metro Manila.

"Hindi n'un masosolusyunan ang problema natin sa pagkakaroon ng mass transport system na mahusay. Ang kailangan talaga mabuksan ang mga sasakyan, mabuksan ang mga prangkisa ngayon, makabyahe ang jeepneys, bus, iyon ang kailangan ngayon. Hindi cable car," Brosas said.

(Cable car will not address the mass transport system problem in the country. What we need to do is open the routes for public utility vehicles, grant franchises [to operate] so jeepneys and buses can ply the roads. That is what we need, not cable car.)

"They even told us before that electric bus...masosolusyunan raw ang problema, nasolusyunan ba ngayon? Lalong humaba ang pila sa MRT, LRT, hirap na hirap tayo makipag-unahan sa mga jeep na kakaunti ang nakakabyahe hanggang ngayon," she added.

(Was the electric bus ever able to provide a solution to our woes? The queues in MRT, LRT are even longer, and even harder to ride a jeepney as only a few of them are plying the roads.)

Brosas said since cable car would require additional resources, such funding is better spent on improving existing mass transport vehicles.

"Bakit hindi muna solusyunan na mapabyahe 'yung mga hindi nakakabyahe ngayon na mass public transport?" she added.

(Why don't we take steps to provide more mass transport vehicles to ply the roads.)

Lee, for his part, said assisting the public utility drivers and operators is the best way to move forward.

"We should heed the call of the jeepney drivers and operators who are yet to ply the roads," Lee added.

Marissa del Mar of OFW party-list agreed.

"This is not the time for cable car. There are a lot of other problems that we should be addressing," she added.—AOL, GMA News