THIS
ARTICLE IS ABOUT the road-use situation in the Philippines and the
modes of public transports plying therein. I am not an expert but I
can say my piece of mind basing upon my own direct experience as a
road user. I would discuss about what type of public vehicles you
would come across; the habits and behaviour of their drivers; and how
to evade these.
For
those who had been driving and commuting our roads for a long time,
this essay is so familiar based on their observations and
experiences. For those who are new to driving and/or commuting the
roads, this piece may come very handy and would give them added
knowledge to preempt future road accidents and “road rage”.
For
those who are non-natives or foreigners, this effort is something to
get acquainted with the different system of public transports plying
the country’s roads, streets and highways and the behavior of local
drivers. The situation here is not at par from where they came from
and, perhaps, too chaotic or amusing for their own comfort.
This
write-up is about being smart on the streets especially when using
the road. I write this article from the eyes of a motorcycle driver.
As we all know, the motorcycle is the most vulnerable mode of
transport not only here but also in other parts of the world and I
always see it on the losing end of a vehicle collision.
Anyway,
for those who are not yet aware, there are many modes of public
transport in the Philippines. The Land Transportation Franchising
and Regulatory Board or the LTFRB is the one government agency tasked
to regulate all public land transports. Main office is in Metro
Manila but there are regional offices scattered around the country.
Regulated
public transportation are buses, jitneys, taxicabs and vans-for-hire.
There are other modes of transport that are regulated by cities and
towns like the tricycles and horse carriages; and there are those
that cannot be regulated and are illegal per se but have been
tolerated by the authorities with a blind eye to ply the roads and
these are the motorcycles-for-hire and the pedal-powered tricycles.
Basically,
you cannot drive a vehicle if you do not have a driver’s license
issued by the Land Transportation Office or the LTO. There are two
types of driver’s license issued to any individual and that is the
Professional and the Non-Professional. A special license called the
Student’s Permit is issued to those that are still learning the
rudiments of driving and to those that knows how to drive but have
not reached legal age yet.
Anyone
could apply for a driver’s license. It doesn’t matter if you are
a PhD or unschooled. Just as long as you are a Philippine citizen;
of 18 years old and above; physically fit; of good eyesight; and do
not use illegal substance. Driver’s license applicants are also
directed to attend a half-day traffic seminar conducted by the LTO.
Now
here’s the problem. A lot of “professional” drivers – the
ones driving high-speed vehicles like taxis, jitneys, motorcycles and
buses – do not have good reading comprehension. The Philippines
adopt the English language for traffic directional aids and
signboards and have an equal translation in local dialects below
these. Even if these signs are explained in vernacular during that
short seminar their retention of instructions are suspect.
Most
of these kind have shunned the classrooms at an early age by factors
which this writer do not have the liberty to expound and which is out
of topic anyway. The competence of these drivers to ply the road are
questionable for they lack sound instruction-retention skills and a
basic understanding of grammar learned while young.
Another
problem are the “short cuts” in acquiring the driver’s license.
Fixers compound that problem in the past. There are now less fixers
but you can fix yourself to be tested in suspected medical clinics
and drug-testing laboratories which are in cahoots with enterprising
government employees. Sometimes, you do not have to trouble yourself
to attend those short seminars if you know (or have been instructed
to by) someone inside to know your way around.
Now,
we come to the modes of public transportation that you need to look
out for and avoid, which also includes the unregulated. I will start
with the most dangerous and end with the most interesting.
TAXICABS:
Taxi, for short, these operate in big cities like those found in
Metro Manila; in Metro Cebu; Cagayan de Oro and Metro Davao. A long
time ago, they come in many colors according to the whims of their
owners; but now they are painted white with big bold numbers painted
on their sides and back windshields indicating that these are
registered and regulated by the LTFRB. The name of the taxi is also
indicated.
Taxis
are efficient modes of transit and could go anywhere and quick but,
unfortunately, they have the most undisciplined drivers. Their
drivers drive fast and stop at a corner at the last minute and just a
few uncomfortable inches from you. They are unpredictable and they
change lanes as fast as you could imagine without even the benefit of
using signal lights.
They
drive their taxis as if they are driving motorcycles and would force
their way into tight spaces especially at the rightmost lane thereby
blocking passage of even motorcycles and bicycles when these want to
take a right turn. They do not practice road courtesy and would take
advantage of any open opportunity, even how tight, just so they could
not be stuck at street corners and crossings.
They
stop anytime and wherever they choose to when they think prospective
passengers are ahead and they don’t give a damn of who is following
them. They overtake you near corners and suddenly take a right turn,
closing your lane and leaving you only two choices: either you
collide with the taxi or evade and crash in the sidewalk or ditch.
Do
not ever follow or tail a taxi. Do not even race with a taxi. Leave
them if you are able else let them pass by. When you see something
white with the unmistakable roof accessory that indicates that it is
a taxi, take immediate evasive maneuvers and get away from these as
fast as possible. Monitor them closely on your mirrors. Just
imagine how chaotic and traumatic it would be if they were still in
different colors.
JITNEYS:
Officially, these transportation is called the Public Utility Jitney
or PUJ. These are common in all cities and provinces of the country.
These are garishly decorated and painted in all color imaginable.
They follow a specific route and the names of places are indicated on
the sides. Types of PUJ come in different shapes and sizes; from
big-engined 30+ seaters to 15-seat Suzuki Multicabs, which I
love to call “public utility midgets”.
The
first PUJs were made from original surplus World War II-era Willys
Jeep and converted to carry passengers, eight a side plus driver
and two passengers on the front seat. Later on, local manufacturers
like Baisac, Sarao, Lawin, Armak and
others copied this durable transportation. These are mostly used in
Metro Manila. In Cebu, PUJs are bigger, more modern looking and
travel fast using engines from Fuso or Isuzu light
trucks.
Automotive
technology is far from perfect. Parts used are surplus components
coming from Japan or Taiwan and their mechanical problems are a
constant nuisance for commuters and other road users. Their
headlights don’t shift from high to dim; it remain at high and
causes glare to other motorists. The drivers don’t use signal
lights and brake lights are intermittent. The reason: inferior
automotive-wiring system. Blame these to the LTFRB for giving these
franchises.
When
a PUJ stops to pick up or disembark a passenger, most likely they
would slide to the side, but not entirely. Most often they stop
where they are, leaving the lane impassable to other vehicles. They
do this because they want to make sure that other PUJs would not
overtake them and pick up more passengers up ahead which should have
been theirs. Other times they would stop right on the middle of the
road and on street corners. When a PUJ stops, everyone stops behind
it and always cause traffic. Remember that!
Nearing
street corners they would crawl at one kilometer per hour and time
their stop when the red light glows to the consternation of the ones
following them. Or they would race at each other and jockey for
position so they could arrive first and pick up the most number of
passengers and woe to those found in the middle. It’s like
swimming among sharks in a feeding frenzy!
Get
away when they are in a feeding mode. Do not follow them. The
rightmost lane is their domain. If possible, identify the streets
where there are PUJ routes and evade those. Take another street
instead where there are no jitneys. Simplify your day this way so
you will not be stressed.
BUSES:
Known also as a Public Utility Bus or PUB, it is the main public
land transportation in the country and travels long distances to the
northernmost tip of Luzon and to the southernmost tip of Mindanao.
They are in different colors according to the name of the bus liner.
They may be airconditioned or not and a lot of these buses ply on or
pass by EDSA in Metro Manila.
They
have certain routes and they occupy the left lane when travelling in
provincial roads then shift to the right when picking up or
disembarking passengers. If you are in a hurry, you cannot overtake
on the right else they close it suddenly. You have to wait when they
move to the right. They function like PUJs, but bigger and emit more
black exhaust fumes!
They
block the lanes just like the PUJs. If PUJs are sharks, PUBs are
orcas and certainly more dangerous when you are caught in between.
They travel faster and you should be concerned when PUBs are racing
with each other and are behind you. Surrender immediately the lanes
to these PUBs and let it overtake you while you can.
Avoid
routes taken by buses so you would not be inconvenienced or in the
line of danger. Most often these buses are found on national
highways but they may be found on city streets because bus terminals
and their garages are located in there.
VANS-FOR-HIRE:
There is only one country-wide franchise given by the LTFRB for
these kind of transportation. I don’t have a problem with V-Hires
when competing road space. My only problem is when I become a
passenger in it. Just imagine a 10-seater passenger van converted as
a public transport and operates to accommodate fourteen people.
Their airconditioning system cannot cool the interiors and people are
packed like corned beef.
TRICYCLES:
This is a motorcycle with an improvised side car. Cities and
municipalities give franchise to these. They have big bold numbers
at the back and they have routes to follow. They are slow-moving and
they service narrow secondary streets. They are banned along
national highways and along primary streets and so it would not be
difficult to evade these. When you follow one on a very narrow road,
it is torture for those with appointments.
ANIMAL
CARRIAGES: These mode of transportation are remnants of a vanishing
era but city administrators and cultural sentimentalists retain these
as tourist attractions. These are given special franchises and have
their own special routes. Only the cities of Manila, Cebu and Vigan
allow horse-driven carriages to make a living ferrying passengers.
The bad side about this is the horses are more often influenced by
illness, fatigue and heat and would go berserk when not in the mood.
I would not want to be near that when it is in that temper.
MOTORCYCLES-FOR-HIRE:
Locally known as “habal-habal”, these are rampant in the
countrysides and slowly made themselves felt in the big cities.
While these could access the most remote corners of the farthest
hamlets, which is good; maintaining these as modes of transportation
in cities is dangerous. For one, the drivers do not respect traffic
laws and do not have knowledge about safety. They don’t wear
helmets and they deny that as well to their passengers.
They
are illegal and therefore, cannot be regulated. They cannot even
police themselves. There are too many of them and competition is
stiff amongst them. They do not give premium to a good night’s
rest for they are awake for the most part of the day and night just
so they could earn to pay for their motorcycles which they loaned
from money lenders. They charge you high if you are not from their
locality and they would take advantage of that and seemed to enjoy it
most of the time.
They
are so ill-disciplined and so rude, probably, most of these kind
graduate to drive taxicabs one day for they have the same mindsets.
But not all. A lot of them die young. Watch them when they drive
past you and watch them how they swerve and close the lanes right
after overtaking you. So James Bondish yet so near to an out-of-body
experience. They throttle at racing speed and they do not understand
motion dynamics, much more so, reading a road sign. Just let them
pass and do not race with them but watch out for them coming from all
the other directions.
PEDAL-POWERED
TRICYCLE: A folk favorite, especially in small towns, this is
actually a bicycle with a side cab. Fondly called as a “trisikad”,
these are slow-moving modes of transport that are given franchise in
some towns because of the lack of modern transportation system or
that these are politically expedient for the powers that be. These
do not have head lights, tail lights, brake lights and signal lights
and take any directions and turns as they wish when empty. Do not
follow these for they retard your movement. Take main arteries and
highways instead when you happen to find yourself in a sleepy town.
Document
done in LibreOffice 3.3 Writer
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