Monday, September 05, 2005
This bus, seen in EDSA in Pasig, had several problems.
First off, it had no plate, which, unfortunately, can't really be seen on the pic. Second, aren't yellow plates supposed to stay within the yellow lanes? Cos he was shifting between the second and third lanes from the EDSA-Ortigas flyover until he approached the Santolan MRT station.
It's actually quite irritating that the MMDA and local government traffic enforcers always stop private vehicles caught driving within the yellow lanes. But I have never seen them catch any public utility buses who go beyond the yellow line. And I distinctly remember Bayani Fernando stating that they should stay within the yellow lanes in an interview on Studio 23's Breakfast when this was first implemented. Again, unless they strictly enforce the rules, then they can't expect the motorists to follow them. I wonder if they will ever come to this realization and wake up from their fantasy land.
2 comments:
You don't "see" the MMDA catch the buses because the bill for the fines go to the operators.
How do I know? Well, the company my mom works for used to run a couple of tourist buses (they've sold the buses a couple of years ago). A few months ago, they received (from MMDA) in the mail a fine, and pic of a bus outside the yellow lanes with a plate number that used to be registered to a different bus (one they previously owned).
You don't see it, but it happens. Unfortunately, I've always thought that when you surrender your franchise the old plates are destroyed. So they promptly forwarded the relevant LTFRB docs (transfer/surrender of franchise) to the MMDA.
Good job MMDA. Bad, bad LTFRB.
I've seen private vehicles get the same letter. But from what I've seen, the bus companies that get these letters represent a really small minority of the violators.
First, it's the drivers that are supposed to be liable. Don't you think it would be a better deterrent if they get their licenses revoked and their passengers unloaded on the spot?
Second, why not apply the same system for both public and private vehicles? Even until now, I see enforcers stopping private vehicles using the yellow lanes.
Third, how many cameras do you think these enforcers have? Enough to catch the majority of the violators? And from what I've seen, they're limited to taking pics from the overpasses, while enforcers can catch these from almost anywhere. So it would be much more efficient for them to stop them on the roads instead of sending them a letter.
Fourth, just imagine if they increase the number of violators that they catch, the money that the MMDA, local government or police will earn from the fines will be quite considerable. Then they can start hiring more enforcers and acquiring more high tech equipment.
And last, and most certainly not the least, just imagine how much of a deterrent it will be to ALL drivers if they see the enforcers catching all these violators.
Don't get me wrong, I believe that what they're doing is good and all, but they can certainly do it so much better.
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