The new decade is about to begin, and we look back with gratitude that we have reached this far and move forward with hope in this journey we call life.
Literally speaking though, if we talk about real journeys in our cities during this decade, then the roads we have taken would have been traffic congested. Two Jica studies this period—one in 2012 and the other just last year—indicated congestion, almost doubling the financial losses caused by traffic. Travel speed went down to almost 40 percent in certain areas and on certain times, particularly along Edsa. And traffic became worse, not just in Metro Manila, that it became a major issue during the 2016 presidential elections. With the looks of it, this will still remain as a point of differentiation among the presidentiables in 2022.
But not all were bad news this decade. There were government programs that worked and made our lives on the road easier and more bearable. My list for government non-rail policies/programs that made an impact on our physical journeys from 2010 to 2019 are as follows:
1. Point-to-Point Buses—For the tens of thousands who currently take these buses daily, imagine life without P2Ps. Given the chaotic character of how our buses normally operate, P2Ps have now become the public transport of choice for a lot of our commuters, especially those who need to do the daily commute to and from Metro Manila.
2. Transportation network companies—Are, of course, a global phenomenon that we in this transport-challenged society has fully embraced and which we can’t seem to get enough of. But ride-sharing services do make sense, providing ready mobility to commuters and a challenge to the taxi industry in maintaining their committed quality of service.
3. MMDA’s Metro base—It was in 2014 when MMDA’s Metro base was built. Though MMDA had a command center prior to this, the new Metro base included a new and more responsive traffic signaling system, and a digital CCTV network that was scalable, as well as capable of providing data analytics. These definitely helped a lot in managing the traffic in the capital region.
4. Pasig River Ferry System—Though there were past attempts to implement a ferry system utilizing the Pasig River, the longest continuing service has been in this decade. Going on its seventh year, the system has now expanded with several new ferry stations and a larger fleet. The new decade (if plans push through) will see this ferry system extend to Laguna de Bay and the Manila Bay, as well as integrate the service with land-based last mile transport service.
5. New toll roads—For a time, we were left to be content with our expressways up to Pampanga to the north and up to Batangas to the South. This decade saw the expansion of toll road service all the way to Pangasinan’s northernmost town and up to the Batangas province border down south. Notable, as well, is the completion of the Skyway connector and North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link Segment 10. The next decade will see the addition of several new tollways to the present 13 and, if plans do happen, connect Metro Manila to the Ilocos provinces up north and boldly up to Mindanao via bridges down south.
Honorable mentions on my list are: the Public Utility Modernization Program, which the opposition would call as the jeepney phaseout; the planned provincial terminals to include the present Parañaque Terminal Exchange, the still to be completed FTI South Terminal and the unsolicited Philippine Arena up north; the planned several bridges crisscrossing Pasig River; the BRT systems, in particular, the one in Cebu and Metro Manila; and the implementation of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System. Honorable mention as these are indeed mega projects that would greatly help the transport demand of this country, but came short of their projected completion before this decade ended.
Yes, there were shining moments in our road journey from 2010 to 2019. There will be more to come, definitely in the next decade we are about to embrace.
Thomas Tim Orbos was former DOTr undersecretary for roads and general manager of the MMDA. He is currently undertaking further studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University. He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu