I admit that my frustration with Manila traffic contributed much to my thoughts in this post. But I believe that the jeepney today, instead of being the blessing that it had been in the past 60 years, has become an archaic relic of the past, an invention that had its day, and should be encased in a museum of Philippine history.

Its predominance in the highways and byways has turned from a blessing to a curse. Because of the lack of discipline, and knowledge of and obedience to traffic rules, regulations and signs, it is the main cause of the horrible Metro Manila traffic. It is the primary culprit of the noxious smog that envelops most urban areas. (How do these chimneys pass the anti-smog inspection?) Most of them have little or no insurance, and coupled with lack of discipline and knowledge, they cause many costly accidents.

The secondary problems that jeepneys cause are many: long commute hours, low-productivity, respiratory health problems, waste of gas, and corruption among traffic police and enforcers, in addition to hearing problems because of the blaring radios!

Possible Solutions

It is difficult to pinpoint one or two causes of the huge traffic problems in metro areas because there are many. But in addition to the lack of discipline among all drivers and out-of-control motorcycle and tricycle drivers, I can see two other major contributors.

The first is the number of commuters all day long because, for one thing, even the simplest transactions cannot be done by phone or online, but only in person. What can be done about this? Not much, really, until corruption and dishonesty are kept in check. Online shopping, banking and document processing are probably years, if not decades away from reality, but doable.

The second is the so-called boundary or surcharge system among bus and jeepney operators. How does this contribute to traffic congestion? Simply, in the mad scramble for passengers because their earnings depend on the number of passengers they can get in a day’s driving, drivers stop and park anywhere, even in the middle of the roads, tying up traffic.

As an engineer, I always get into a solutions mode when I see problems and think of ways to improve on how things are done—I also had experience as an industrial process engineer. It would be extremely difficult—some would say even impossible—but nothing less than a comprehensive mass transportation overhaul would suffice, beginning with government ownership. First, jeepneys should be phased out from all major roads and highways and replaced with urban mass transit such as buses and trains. Second, employees of this government-owned transport system should be salaried, which means they get paid fixed monthly salaries that are even better than what they earn today with their hard work. Third, these buses and trains should be operated according to a fixed schedule, being dispatched with frequency based on the time of day. Fourth, all buses from outside Metro Manila should be allowed only at the fringes of the metro area. Fifth, designated bus stops should be strictly enforced.

What happens to all the jeepney drivers and barkers? They would be absorbed and retrained into the mass transport system as drivers, conductors, inspectors, dispatchers, mechanics, janitors, etc. Drivers should be retrained and reprogrammed so that discipline and obedience is hardwired into their brains. The traffic enforcers, in addition, should also be paid regular fixed salaries.

One other thing that seemed to work for the MRT and LRT trains is the seating configuration. The buses could also be configured in the same way, with seats only on the sides for women, elderly and the handicapped, so that the aisles are wide maximizing the density of passengers per square meter of road. There could even be segregation of women, elderly and the handicapped from the rest of the bus, as in the trains. There should be wide doors in the front, middle and back, so the time to load and unload is minimized.

I’m sure that there are many more improvements that mass transport experts can think of to untie the big traffic mess and lessen the misery of commuters.

The above may sound like a pipe dream, but would be a small start and would only work, obviously, if corruption is minimized. The transportation czar should run the system like a business for profit, but with rules and regulations strictly enforced throughout the system.

Now the big question is where to find that honest, incorruptible transportation czar.

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The election fever rages on. Brace yourselves for the mudslinging, character-assassination and the litter of political posters/banners/billboards as soon as the official campaign starts early next year, or even before it does. The circus is coming to town. They’re off and running!

Not that these hordes of future “legislators” and “executives” will all be elected. But the sad thing—and this is the big reason why many of these clowns run for office—is that most of them will be chosen by the screaming and dancing hordes of gray-matter-challenged electorate.

After the elections, celebrity fans will not have to go to the movie theaters and ritzy hotels and restaurants to scream at the sight of Manny Pacquiao or Richard Gomez, they just have to attend the sessions of Congress, and the various provincial, city and municipal halls. This is of course, assuming that these “officials” will be there and not doing a movie, a photo op, a TV show, or playing in a stupid PBA game. And of course, anyone whose dream of a lifetime is to gaze at that favorite comedian has to battle the paparazzi at the doors and hallways.

Click here for another guide to idiots who will run the Philippine circus for the next several years.