Talking About Public Transport

The following text is a conversation between engineer-einjel and her friend (codename), Love.

engineer-einjel:

i heard PNoy will be there.. i hope so! i'm thinking if may be i could tell him na tama lang ang pgtaas ng mrt fare,haha!

Love:

pero dear, if tataas ang MRT, matutuwa ang mga buses natin. sana lang mayroong gawin sa klase ng services ng mga buses natin dahil malamang dito lilipat ang mga taong nagtitipid dahil na nga sa taas ng MRT. kawawa na naman ang mga Pilipino. dapat dagdagan pa ng infrastructure ang bansa natin para hindi tayo mapunta sa hinding magandang service ng mga buses (i.e. dumugan, halos mag-iisang oras sa bandang Ortigas para lang kumuha ng mga pasahero, kumusta naman ang konsepto ng travel time at kung may work ka diba?) Hay dear, i vote for you for the future MMDA chair.

engineer-einjel:

hahahaha! nakakatawa o tuwa yung last statement mo. thanks! i like the way you think, it shows your concern on public transport.

Re increase in fare sa mrt, what i've read is hindi naman daw mas mataas sa bus fare (magiging 30 ata yung dating 15) para nga hindi mgshift to bus ang karamihan sa mrt passengers. tsaka yung expected increase in revenues will be used to buy more cars to increase the capacity of mrt and to improve it. mrt is still more efficient mode of transport than the EDSA buses considering pollution, travel time, etc. yeah, i agree with your idea that there's a need to add more infra but this would require funds (kung sana yung huge amount of money from let's say, the MVUC or motor vehicle user's charge will be used properly) and this should also be coupled with road users' (pasahero man o driver) whole-heart-and-mind compliance with the traffic rules and regulations. for more or less 2years already, mayroong OBR o organized bus route project ang MMDA to address the issues with regard to buses plying EDSA. Sadly, I don't know what happened kasi parang wala namang naimprove sa dati.. so, saan napunta yung milyong milyong budget for that? maraming projects pero sana naiimplement nang mabuti. assessments on the impacts of supposedly improvement projects should always done and policy changes or adjustments to maximize benefits should also be put up when necessary.

haha, essay na ang haba nito. gusto ko ng ganitong discussions! :))

Love:

hay, hindi sa pagiging righteous at feelingera, pero when i arrived last July, sinubukan kong sumakay sa tamang sakayan, bumaba sa tamang babaan at mag-abang sa tamang abangan. Wlang konsepto ng stops ang Metro manila so hindi maimprove-improve ang traffic condition. Walang konsepto ng urban planning. mga bahay nasa tabi ng mga kalsada, maliit ang kalsada, walang masyadong flyovers, ---- (see, I'm bitching about the negatives of our country, boohhh!)

Bawasan ang mga bus sa EDSA. kahit magsiksikan ang mga pasahero basta makarating sila ng mabilis sa bahay nila diba? atleast nakauwi agad, atleast hindi na magtatagal pa sa mga bus na sugapang yan. Bawal ang long waiting sa mga areas na matao tulad ng Ortigas, Makati, Shaw, kasi more than 3 hours ang pagtravel from Fairview to Pasay, ang lapit-lapit lang niya kung tutuusin.

Bawasan ang prangkisa ng mga FX, at jeep. bawasan na silang mga jeep bilang andami nila at hindi rin sila humihinto sa tamang stops.

Hearts siya, so mahirap iimplement? Pwede mong i-broadcast sa buong Pilipinas using TV Patrol or saksi or mga radyo sa bus or FX ang mga bagong ruta at bus stops kung saan lang pwedeng bumaba at sumakay ang mga tao. Pag alam ng mga tao - driver, pasahero, mga ibang private vehicles ang stop - pagagalitan ng bawat isa ang hindi sumunod. sa panahon natin kung kelan andaming tao sa Pilipinas at kung kelan umiiral ang ganitong uri ng mga services, at kung saan ang media ay mas mataas pa ang autoridad sa kinauukulan, i.e. national govt, parang mas maganda na lang maging SOCIALIST at hindi na DEMOKRASYA. Democracy does not work for us.

hay, angas! daming bitterness! haha.

engineer-einjel:

Love, nasaan ang puso mo? hahaha!
-- actually, merong urban planning but transport planning came after it. these two should go hand in hand kasi. hindi puedeng you put up land developments then saka mo nalang isipin yung traffic implications and travel demands nito. yet eto ang nangyari sa city kaya wala ng space for expansion ang mga roads. but it should be noted too that road widening or creating another overpass is not always the answer to our traffic probs coz there will come a time na mapupuno rin ito. i believe the gov't should develop a reliable mass transit system (trains or the cheaper one - bus rapid transit) for everyone and this will significantly reduce traffic probs.
-- OBR also aims to reduce the number of buses plying along EDSA and to reduce waiting time in the bus stops. merong RFID tags ang buses that will automatically apprehend them pag ngexceed sila sa set waiting time. i just don't know kung hanggang ngayon ay pinapatupad (na dapat naman ay pinapatupad pa).
-- regulated naman ang pgapprove ng franchise for public transport vehicles. sadly, yung pghinto ng jeep kung saan saan has become norm for the people. jeepney's lane changing behavior creates chaos to an already problematic city roads. we can't simply remove jeepneys, etc.. but i can still see hope somehow that this will be improved in the future. may be it takes a lot of will power among all people haha.
-- to use the power of media in educating the people regarding traffic rules and regulations is actually a good idea. i just don't know how we could start with that.. any more ideas? :) but to argue between socialist and democracy is another thing. haha
-- i think bitterness is better than apathy to the existing road congestion issues. once there are things that you don't want then you can move on to thinking on how you can improve the bad things. thanks! :))

Love:

ahahaha. :) iisip pa ko ng isasagot, parang nasabi ko na rin ang gusto kong sabihin eh.

ahhaha.

tama na may mass transport system to be set by the govt. with our democratic system, pati ang transportation system, nasa private institution which is mahirap namang pakiusapang sumunod sa tamang rules. mas mahirap ang magregulate simply because hindi naman ganun ka-strict ang mga implementing officers. much better if it starts with the bus drivers themselves. mangyayari lng 'yan kung hindi na private ang humahawak. gusto ko i-discuss pano ang democracy in terms of mass transport system blah blah. i know it worked for the western countries but our culture seems hard to change at this point that this kind of democracy would not work for us. wehe. ito na yata ang pinakamahabang discussion na nagawa natin. na-miss na kita. kwentuhan tayo minsan. :D

engineer-einjel:

yeah, haba nga.. magandang pguusap 'to when we meet. see ya! :)

Love:

sa china dear, alam mo, every bus route should only take you an hour lang. so u can expect that the longest hour you'd stay inside a bus is just an hour. kahit paputol-putol ang pagsakay mo, ok lng diba? hindi 'yung tulad sa'ten, Fairview to Pasay lng ang choice mong sakyan kaya wala kang magawa kung magtagal man ang mga bus sa kalsada. hayz. kelan kaya un dito dear?

engineer-einjel:

oh, nice.. it may take years for us but i believe as long as there are dedicated people (my profs and other good leaders in the transport sector) working toward acquiring efficient and safe roads as well as orderly environment then it will be realized.. umaasa ako na mababago pa ang mga ayaw natin. it started with the hope that is in those dedicated people.. :)

Buses Going North - Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan

Do you want to travel up north and see Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Cagayan? There are several bus companies that provide transportation services from Metro Manila to as far as Cagayan. These include Victory Liner, Baliwag Transit, Florida, EMC, and Dalin Liner.

I studied and stayed in QC since 2003 but I go home to my province - Cagayan every opportune time allows me to spend time with family. Thus, for frequent trip maker like me I prefer to ride the Victory Liner bus. The Victory Liner company employs experienced drivers who are courteous and ensures safe travel. I wouldn't go into detail like comparing it to other buses.

You can easily access their terminal along EDSA in Kamias, Quezon City. They have daily trips leaving almost every 30 minutes.

The total travel time from Manila to Tuguegarao is about 12 hours. There are three to four stopovers depending on the time of your travel or the bus drivers. Fare ranges from 500 to 700 as stated in their website. However, i think their website is not updated since fares currently range from 600 to 800. (For their daily schedule and fares, you can check this: http://www.victoryliner.com/tripschedules3.htm)

Both day time and night travel is good at least for me who is used to this long trips. When you travel during day time, you get to see green, green, and green scenery of farmlands that is relaxing to your eyes. On the other hand, night travel has also its advantage - that you sleep during the entire travel and arrive in Tugeugarao as you wake up. For night travelers though, an important thing to bring is a thick jacket or a blanket to cover yourself from extreme cold aircon.

Have a safe trip!

Bus Rapid Transit

Have you heard of BRT or Bus Rapid Transit system?

'Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of transportation systems that, through improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling, attempt to use buses to provide a service that is of a higher quality than an ordinary bus line. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of transportation systems that, through improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling, attempt to use buses to provide a service that is of a higher quality than an ordinary bus line.'

'An ideal bus rapid transit service would be expected to include most of the following features:

1. Bus only, grade-separated (or at-grade exclusive) right-of-way;

2. Comprehensive coverage;

3. Serves a diverse market with high-frequency all day service;

4. Bus priority / bus lanes;

5. Vehicles with tram-like characteristics.'

Comparison with other forms of mass transit

'BRT attempts to combine the advantages of a metro system (noticeably right-of-way which improves punctuality and frequency) with the advantages of a bus system (low construction and maintenance costs, right-of-way not required for entire length).

Compared to standard bus service BRT systems with dedicated right-of-way lanes, and thus an increased average vehicle speed, can provide more passenger miles with the same number of vehicles and personnel. They also bring about a smoother ride than a normal bus immersed in stop-and-go traffic.'

to read more click here

Examples of BRT systems currently operating in the world:

-- Transmilenio system in Bogotá

--OC Transpo Transitway, Ottawa

--South-East Busway, Brisbane

--Metro Bus Tunnel, Seattle

--Silver Line, Boston

In the Philippines, BRT system is being studied and developed in Cebu. For further details, click here.