LET me start by stating the obvious: we all have a direct stake in protecting the environment. We all know about greenhouse gases, which contribute to the greenhouse effect when the heat of sunlight is “trapped” in the atmosphere and produces the climate-warming change that, in turn, brings about those ill-consequences we now are experiencing.
There is increased heat and drought. Water sources are being depleted. We experience rising warmer temperatures and likewise colder temperatures. Ocean temperatures are rising, sea levels are also rising, wind patterns are changing and their severity as typhoons are more destructive. Agricultural yields are seen to be reduced. There’s flooding and soil erosion more frequently now.
It has occurred to me that it is not enough just to be aware of climate change and wail in desperation, but to do our individual part to mitigate its ill effects. I’d like to suggest to my readers that it is in reducing air pollution on the roads where all of us can do our part, specifically, air pollution in Edsa. This principal road artery connecting Metro Manila cities has been the source of heavy air pollution from vehicle congestion, and all of us who use Edsa are accomplices to the degradation of our urban environment. So let’s do something about it.
Just to put a bit of context to my proposal. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas that contributes about 75 percent of emissions. It can linger in the atmosphere for a thousand years. Carbon dioxide is produced burning fossil fuels, like coal, oil and natural gas. A US study reports that indeed the largest source of greenhouse emissions is from human activities when fossil fuel is burned for electricity, heat and transportation.
The principal culprit in Metro Manila’s air pollution is the motor vehicle. This fossil-fueled modern invention has been the major source of toxic emissions so visible and felt in our Edsa traffic congestion. We might note that a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. (USD EPA, March 2018)
When the pandemic lockdown got all the vehicles off the road, we all saw how the air in Edsa and other streets became so differently clean.
Auspiciously, the lockdown provided the singular opportunity to introduce the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) concept to Edsa. Since the road was relatively free of traffic, it was an opportune time to make a drastic change—dedicating the inside lane of Edsa to public buses moving by central control in orderly, well-timed intervals. It is now working to speed-up the transport of people along the busiest of highways. And no more buses overtaking and blocking each other, fighting to get passengers because the bus drivers are now compensated with fixed salaries, not dependent on passengers picked up. Have we noticed this? It’s really a direction towards a more rational way of using roads. And this is just the beginning of a full implementation of proper Road Sharing with good consequences to the environment. We must all be on board to this road-use objective.
In Executive Order 774 (December 2008) “Reorganizing the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change,” it was already declared: “The new paradigm in the movement of men and things must follow a simple principle: ‘Those who have less in wheels must have more in road.’ For this purpose, the system shall favor non-motorized locomotion and collective transportation (walking, bicycling, and the man-powered mini-train).” The purpose was to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.
The National Transport Policy (September 2017) and its implementing rules and regulations reiterated “the prioritization of people-mobility over vehicle-mobility.” (Section 129 of IRR) The tragedy is that, where the objective of transportation is to move people to points of destination, and that’s why we have roads, these roads in effect have come to serve the movement of vehicles more than people. Why? Because the road space used by vehicles is disproportionately much more than by individuals. And at Edsa, we were hardly moving in fact. Perhaps we can change this because we need to.
It’s a waste of space, says Tony Oposa, the champion environmentalist. “A person standing up occupies about one-eight (1/8) of a square meter. Sitting down he occupies about one-fourth (1/4) of a square meter. Using a car, he will occupy 13-15 square meters, and the vehicle is not yet even moving.” It is also a waste of time, and all who have used Edsa know this too well.
Let me now go to my point. Let’s all make Edsa the focus of our joint efforts to do our small, individual part, yet can produce significant results. Let’s pursue through government-private sector partnership making Edsa a rationalized road-sharing reality giving priority to public transport against private cars, assigning as well pathways for bicycles and pedestrians in equal prioritization as already mandated by official policy. This will reduce fossil-fuel emissions drastically, enhanced by the removal from the road of old polluting vehicles and the replacement of combustion engines with electric-powered transport. Moreover, let us line Edsa with trees and plants not just for beautification but to absorb the carbon dioxide emissions which is the way the biological carbon cycle works. In turn, plants exhale oxygen which people inhale.
In sum, let’s favor people over cars. That makes sense. After all, just a few have cars. The majority need public transport.
Can the road-sharing concept be done? In fact, some of our LGUs have experimented with this concept. There are examples in other countries too.
You will be hearing more about this and let’s hope all will get on board.
Santiago F. Dumlao Jr. past president of the Finex, is the current Secretary-General of the Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia.