Huli ka!

The LTFRB has announced that they will be scrapping their "flexibility rule", which allows provincial buses to pick up commuters in the metro outside of their official route. According to LTFRB chairman Anton Lantion, they're hoping that this will result in a reduction of around 700 buses from the metro's major thoroughfares and drastically reduce traffic congestion.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much meat on the article. Does this mean that these buses won't be allowed to pass EDSA and other major roads? Or that they can't stop to load and unload commuters outside of their official stations? Anyway, either way, this would still help, even if just a little. So, kudos to the LTFRB!

Here's a pic of the Guadalupe bridge, before and after they removed the provincial bus stop.
Sino naman ang engot na nagisip na maglagay ng bus stop sa tulay? Siguro natanggal na sa trabaho 'yun.

FAIL!

Hahahaha! Always wanted to say that. =)

Hindi pa pala patay yung provincial bus stop project. Here's a shot of the one in front of Megamall, taken last night. Looks like it'll eat up one of the non-yellow lanes.

Recently noticed that the provincial bus stop on the Guadalupe bridge has disappeared. So what happened? Not that we're complaining. It was a really stupid idea to begin with.

Anyway, here's a shot of the one at Guadalupe taken last December 6. Hope they do disappear permanently.

The MMDA has announced that it will set up 13 new bus stops on EDSA for the exclusive use of provincial buses. This was prompted by findings showing that the sharing of bus stops by both metro and provincial buses are a major cause of traffic congestion.

Oh no! This means that there will be 13 more spots where you can expect traffic on the already highly congested thoroughfare. Anyway, aren't provincial buses only allowed to load and unload passengers on their bus terminals? This is why they're not supposed to use the yellow lanes, right?

In the wake of a number of fatal accidents involving buses in the past couple of weeks, LTFRB chairman Thompson Lantion has proposed that bus drivers' salaries should be changed from commission-based to a fixed monthly salary. However, Integrated Metro Bus Operation Association (IMBOA) head Claire dela Fuente has argued that metro bus drivers would not be "comfortable" with this type of system, saying that this would be more applicable to provincial bus drivers.

Now, this is something that really should be implemented. Metro bus drivers drive the way they do (fast, swerves, goes out of the yellow lanes, avoids the loading stations, etc.) all in a bid to overtake the other buses and pick up more passengers. Simply because the more they pickup, the bigger their take-home pay. Everybody knows that this adds to the worsening traffic situation and the number of accidents that occur, especially on major thoroughfares like EDSA. So if you take away that "incentive," then it follows that drivers would have no need to hurry and are thus more likely to follow traffic rules and regulations.

But bus operators and drivers are not too keen with this setup. The operators are afraid that drivers will get lazy since there would be little incentive to perform. Unlike other jobs, there is very little prospect of promotion and bus companies would have very little leeway in terms of giving performance or even annual increases. This translates to lower revenues and higher operation costs for them. On the other hand, the drivers, especially those that are already used to a higher level of income than what a fixed salary system could provide, would be loathe to the change 'cos this will basically mean lower income for them.

But, what is more important here, public safety or the bus companies and drivers? The LTFRB should make this call, and they should definitely make it soon.

The MMDA has announced that the taxis, jeepneys and other forms of PUVs, except for Metro Manila buses, may be banned from using the yellow lanes on EDSA. The move will, according to MMDA Traffic Operations Center Executive Director Angelito Vergel de Dios, ensure an uninterrupted flow of buses on the outer lanes of EDSA, and is being done in preparation for the implementation of the Organized Bus Route system. Read more about it here.

First, the yellow lanes are not the ones that are clogged with vehicles, buses or otherwise. Second, when will metro buses be banned from using the non-yellow lanes? These buses are the ones that contribute to the traffic situation, especially in and around the loading stations.

The MMDA will implement their electronic bus routing system this February, using an RFID microchip to track bus movements on the metro's main thoroughfares. Supposedly, this will help them control the number of buses plying the roads and catch colorum buses. Based on their estimates, this system will supposedly cut down traffic by 50%.

Bus operators, on the other hand, have expressed concerns on the cost of installing the microchip and has requested that the MMDA should ensure that it should be affordable, or even provided for free. Also, they are afraid that once colorum buses have been taken out, "traffic law enforcers, to meet their day's 'quota,' will resort to taking aim at legal operators even for petty violations".

The funny thing about this is that the example that Claire dela Fuente, Integrated Metro Bus Operation Association president, to illustrate this point was "May konting basag lang ang windshield side mirrors, huhulihin na." I don't think that's petty, considering that being able to see behind you is very important to safe driving, diba?

Anyway, to read more about this, check out these articles from ABS-CBN News and GMA News.

Areas near bus terminals clogged
The TMG has been ordered by the PNP to be on their toes as traffic builds up on roads in and around the metro's bus terminals as people start coming back from (and going back to) the provinces after the holidays.

I suppose the situation in these areas will be bad until next Monday.

MMDA seeks cancellation of ES Transport bus franchise
Due to the closure of ES Transport's bus terminal, the MMDA is requesting the LTFRB to cancel the bus company's franchise. The terminal, which is along EDSA near the Cubao area, was closed by the MMDA last December 23. ES Transport was one of eleven bus companies that were mandated by the MMDA last September to improve their terminals in order to reduce their impact on traffic when going in and out of the terminals.

Public schools to resume on January 3
Over 50,000 public schools nationwide will resume classes starting tomorrow. The majority of private schools, however, will resume classes on Monday, January 7.

So expect traffic to start getting heavier and heavier beginning tomorrow.

Here's another example of the ineffectivity of the MMDA's loading and unloading station. This time it's the Buendia-EDSA southbound one.

The commuters coming from Buendia usually wait right underneath the flyover 'cos the station is too far and there's no protection from the rains on the long walk to the station. Of course, passengers alighting from the buses also prefer to go down here.
So what's the MMDA going to do about this?

At the Guadalupe-EDSA southbound bus stop, the buses usually partially block the third lane while loading and unloading passengers. And these buses usually do this before the actual bus stop.
Again, where are the enforcers? They're supposed to prevent these buses from stopping before the bus stop and anywhere except on the outermost lane, and force commuters to go to the designated bus stops.

Just look at this JS Liner (tama ba?) bus. The merging traffic leading to the underpass is already really bad, with at least four full lanes merging into three, nadagdagan pa ng ulol na 'to.
Where are all the MMDA enforcers who hang around this place?

Talagang iniiwasan ng mga bus dumaan sa mga 'to. Here are a few pics:

Here are a couple of pictures showing how the buses coming down the Magallanes flyover swerve to the right to load and unload passengers, well before the actual bus stop (which is where the waiting shed is located).
If you take a look at the second pic, you'll see that these buses block off four of the lanes.

A bus rammed the center island and several vehicles late yesterday morning at the Coastal Road in Paranaque. Again, defective brakes were to blame. Buti na lang walang namatay, at least as of press time.

Calling LTFRB! Calling LTO! Please do your jobs! Or does their charter not include ensuring public safety for the country's commuters?

Here are a couple of news links on this, one from the Inquirer, and another from GMA News.

Five separate accidents caused by two trucks and three buses, resulting in five deaths and sixty injured, all in one day at the NLEX. And the best they can do is advise these truck and bus drivers to check their vehicles before they travel?!?

Check out the Inquirer article here.

The LTO and LTFRB should really take a proactive stance in making sure that these truck and bus companies maintain their vehicles properly. Inspections should be expanded to include vehicle condition and roadworthiness, and frequency should be increased to at least every six, or better yet, every three months. In fact, they should also include all public utility vehicles in this program. This will also give them a chance to trim down on the number of public utility vehicles, especially those traveling on EDSA.

How many people have to die before the government does something about this?

These buses swerve three to four lanes to get to the corner right after the entrance of Dasmarinas Village, just dangerously missing vehicles coming from SLEX and Pasong Tamo. Then these buses stop at the second and third lanes to let out and pick up commuters. So those vehicles coming from SLEX and Pasong Tamo are then forced to swerve two to three lanes just to avoid these buses. It's like a house of dominoes!
When, oh, when will the MMDA do something about this?!?

This bus had parking lights, but no brake lights.
The LTO should really start implementing a thorough inspection of vehicles during registration. In all my years of registering vehicles, I have yet to see them check anything outside of the engine and chassis numbers, and for a brief period some years ago, the EWD. Brake lights, parking lights, head lights, rearview and sideview mirrors are just a few items that they need to ensure that each vehicle has in good working condition for it to be considered road worthy.

Until now, the MMDA still does not or cannot do anything about the buses that illegally load and unload passengers in the southbound lane of EDSA in front of Mantrade.
Meron naman palaging MMDA enforcers dito?

'Kala ko bawal ang swerving? Well, seems like the driver of this Skyway bus doesn't think so.
Wonder when the Filipinos will learn to "practice what they preach"?