Traffic Problem In Metro Manila (Merged Thread)

[sinfuldave]

Definitely there are solutions to the terrible traffic that we have in Metro Manila. On top of my head, I can think of two: regulation and enforcement.

 

If those numbskulls from LTFRB will do their jobs and ensure that PUV operators (which are privately-owned) comply with various regulations, especially safety, it would greatly reduce the number of buses, jeepneys, and taxi cabs plying the roads of the capital. Personally, I think that way too many operators are being given franchises to operate PUV's, with little or no regard for public safety. Too many accidents are happening, causing traffic to grind to a halt in the busy roads of the metro.

 

At the same time, if MMDA and local traffic authorities will simply get down to business and strictly crack down on violators of any known traffic regulation (smoke belching, among others), at the very least we'd see an orderly flow of traffic and possibly a reduction of untoward incidents on the road.

 

Unfortunately, the ideal is far from reality. It takes lots of balls and a truckload of political will to see substantial changes through.

[sonnyt111]

Definitely there are solutions to the terrible traffic that we have in Metro Manila. On top of my head, I can think of two: regulation and enforcement.

 

If those numbskulls from LTFRB will do their jobs and ensure that PUV operators (which are privately-owned) comply with various regulations, especially safety, it would greatly reduce the number of buses, jeepneys, and taxi cabs plying the roads of the capital. Personally, I think that way too many operators are being given franchises to operate PUV's, with little or no regard for public safety. Too many accidents are happening, causing traffic to grind to a halt in the busy roads of the metro.

 

At the same time, if MMDA and local traffic authorities will simply get down to business and strictly crack down on violators of any known traffic regulation (smoke belching, among others), at the very least we'd see an orderly flow of traffic and possibly a reduction of untoward incidents on the road.

 

Unfortunately, the ideal is far from reality. It takes lots of balls and a truckload of political will to see substantial changes through.

Ever see that long line of buses along EDSA that looks like a train? Blame the LTFRB for granting too many franchises with very little oversight into the compliance by public utility owners of safety rules. The MMDA is simply swamped by too many buses and jeepneys who consistently violate traffic laws. Buses/jeeps are poorly maintained, bus drivers are either clueless about traffic rules or are in a hurry to pick up more passengers in order to meet boundary requirements that they constantly race with other bus drivers. And when they get into an accident, the all too familiar "nawalan ako ng preno" kicks in. If I had my way, the moment a bus driver admits that he lost his brakes, that would automatically mean grounding the entire fleet of buses and cancelling the franchise. Because, if he admits he lost his brakes, how many more buses in the fleet are also in similar disrepair? How many more lives will be lost because of the failure of the bus company to ensure that their buses are road worthy?

 

The issuance of a franchise pre-supposes that the bus line properly maintains its fleet of buses. Whenever mechanical defect (such as loss of brakes) results in lives lost, then, it's automatically presumed that the bus line does not properly maintain its fleet of buses. In such cases, the franchise should be immediately revoked, buses of the owner confiscated so the owner cannot open up a new company using the same sub-standard buses. The owner can be reimbursed nominally for his loss.

 

The rights of the vast majority of commuters and motorists far exceed the rights of any bus owner. Draconian measures must be employed by the government to ensure that buses that aren't road worthy aren't plying the streets of Metro Manila.

[Doctor Juris]

yung mga naka green na QC enforcers walang alam sa pag ayos ng traffic. nandun sila sa lugar na hindi naman nagbabara ang traffic. iniiwasan ang mga area na pasaway mga jeep at bus para sana sila maniguraong hindi naka babad ang mga yun para hindi nakakaharang sa ibang sasakyan. either bobo, tamad or takot sa mga jeep at bus. or baka nabayaran na ng tong.

 

bwisit!!!!!!!!

[master_vince]

I think the problem here is the people and their attitude. Whatever program the Government may implement will be just a waste of time because of the attitudes of the people.

[MsDebauchery]

Way too many PUVs, but can we also call out these stupid 4-car households with 2 car garages? Side streets aren't parking lots. Get a bigger house.

[cyberchanch]

I think restricting new vehicles that come out to the road is a start, but needs to be accompanied by the decision to improve the public transportation. Currently the FX taxis, jeeps and other small vehicles take over the streets. MRT and LRT improvement and extension of the grid should be first step, but you can go further with exclusive lanes for public transport in EDSA / C5 / Main internal avenues, reviewing the routes and schedules of the buses / jeeps so you can optimize them and add more big buses that can carry more people.

 

In the end it is also how people drive. The other day coming from pasay, a guy stopped in a small road and we were unable to go through. But the thing is that he could have stopped a few meters ahead and he could pull over and leave the street empty. He did not care, and we were waiting there for five minutes for him to finish his errand. We need to look at how we drive, respect the rules and have common sense too if we want to improve the issue.

 

My two cents here.

[maxiev]

I think the problem here is the people and their attitude. Whatever program the Government may implement will be just a waste of time because of the attitudes of the people.

Yup. The "ako muna" mentality of Filipinos.

[maxiev]

Way too many PUVs, but can we also call out these stupid 4-car households with 2 car garages? Side streets aren't parking lots. Get a bigger house.

If those in government decades ago had realized that coding would result in households buying more cars to avoid their coding days, they probably wouldn't have passed this stupid law. The stupid assumption of those who made that law was that Filipinos would take public transportation on the days that their vehicles were banned on the street. Well that wasn't what happened. People simply bought a second, third, fourth, even fifth car, depending on the number of people in a particular household. Since there wasn't enough garage space for more than one or two vehicles, these people decided to park their additional vehicles on the road.

 

So now, secondary roads, which could have been used to declog major roads such as EDSA, are clogged with these parked vehicles.

 

This is what happens when people pass stupid laws without realizing the consequences that such laws would have.

[maxiev]

MRT and LRT improvement and extension of the grid should be first step,

Not only is the MRT being extended, it's deteriorating to the point that it's soon going to be inoperable, further making life more difficult for the commuting public.

[maxiev]

In the end it is also how people drive. The other day coming from pasay, a guy stopped in a small road and we were unable to go through. But the thing is that he could have stopped a few meters ahead and he could pull over and leave the street empty. He did not care, and we were waiting there for five minutes for him to finish his errand. We need to look at how we drive, respect the rules and have common sense too if we want to improve the issue.

 

My two cents here.

Blame it on Filipino's lack of consideration for others. Forget discipline. Or even about knowledge of traffic rules. It's people's attitude of "I'll do as I want and to hell with everybody else."

 

If you want order in the streets, the first order of business is knowledge of traffic rules. Second, is the observance of these traffic rules through discipline. And third, is the "malasakit sa iba", the courtesy that drivers should extend to other motorists like not obstructing roads so other motorists can pass.

 

And of course, the last, and probably most important component to all these, is traffic enforcement. There is a need for traffic enforcers to punish motorists who break rules. Right now, I believe the penalties are way too low. Penalties should be increased particularly for drivers who willfully block the smooth flow of traffic. This includes puvs who pick-up/drop off passengers right in the middle of the street. This terrible practice impedes smooth traffic flow.

 

Another terrible practice is when motorists block intersections. The so-called yellow boxes are painted on intersections to remind motorists not to block the intersection. Just because a motorist has the green light does not mean he can proceed across the intersection if the road is blocked up ahead. Right now, the MMDA and other traffic enforcement authorities man these intersections and instruct vehicles not to block the intersection even if they have the green light. It's as if the traffic enforcers who probably only have a high school degree are more intelligent than the motorist who went to graduate school in the USA. Without the presence of the traffic enforcer, the motorist will proceed to block the intersection. This usually happens when it rains and traffic enforcers aren't around. No wonder traffic worsens when it rains.

 

And then there are those who counter-flow. It take just one idiot to counter-flow and then everybody else follows suit. A two-way road all of a sudden becomes a one-way road.

 

Motorists who violate these rules must have their licenses confiscated for at least 6 months for the first violation. One year for a second violation, and total revocation for a third violation. Each time the motorists commits these types of violations, a copy of the traffic citation ticket must be forwarded to the LTO for encoding. The computer will flag how many times motorists violate any of these rules and the appropriate penalty should be imposed.

 

Take out these irresponsible drivers from the road, and see an improvement in traffic flow.

[Julianda]

Blame it on Filipino's lack of consideration for others. Forget discipline. Or even about knowledge of traffic rules. It's people's attitude of "I'll do as I want and to hell with everybody else."

 

If you want order in the streets, the first order of business is knowledge of traffic rules. Second, is the observance of these traffic rules through discipline. And third, is the "malasakit sa iba", the courtesy that drivers should extend to other motorists like not obstructing roads so other motorists can pass.

 

And of course, the last, and probably most important component to all these, is traffic enforcement. There is a need for traffic enforcers to punish motorists who break rules. Right now, I believe the penalties are way too low. Penalties should be increased particularly for drivers who willfully block the smooth flow of traffic. This includes puvs who pick-up/drop off passengers right in the middle of the street. This terrible practice impedes smooth traffic flow.

 

Another terrible practice is when motorists block intersections. The so-called yellow boxes are painted on intersections to remind motorists not to block the intersection. Just because a motorist has the green light does not mean he can proceed across the intersection if the road is blocked up ahead. Right now, the MMDA and other traffic enforcement authorities man these intersections and instruct vehicles not to block the intersection even if they have the green light. It's as if the traffic enforcers who probably only have a high school degree are more intelligent than the motorist who went to graduate school in the USA. Without the presence of the traffic enforcer, the motorist will proceed to block the intersection. This usually happens when it rains and traffic enforcers aren't around. No wonder traffic worsens when it rains.

 

And then there are those who counter-flow. It take just one idiot to counter-flow and then everybody else follows suit. A two-way road all of a sudden becomes a one-way road.

 

Motorists who violate these rules must have their licenses confiscated for at least 6 months for the first violation. One year for a second violation, and total revocation for a third violation. Each time the motorists commits these types of violations, a copy of the traffic citation ticket must be forwarded to the LTO for encoding. The computer will flag how many times motorists violate any of these rules and the appropriate penalty should be imposed.

 

Take out these irresponsible drivers from the road, and see an improvement in traffic flow.

 

I couldn't agree with you more.

[sandy51]

If those in government decades ago had realized that coding would result in households buying more cars to avoid their coding days, they probably wouldn't have passed this stupid law. The stupid assumption of those who made that law was that Filipinos would take public transportation on the days that their vehicles were banned on the street. Well that wasn't what happened. People simply bought a second, third, fourth, even fifth car, depending on the number of people in a particular household. Since there wasn't enough garage space for more than one or two vehicles, these people decided to park their additional vehicles on the road.

 

So now, secondary roads, which could have been used to declog major roads such as EDSA, are clogged with these parked vehicles.

 

This is what happens when people pass stupid laws without realizing the consequences that such laws would have.

The sad part of it is that the number of government vehicles keep growing and they too have no parking spaces. So you are prevented from using your car on your coding times but some government employee would use a government vehicle paid for by you.

 

You mentioned stupid laws. Who was the MMDA then when the coding started? At that time, there were already studies on Metro Manila traffic and one identified problem area was enforcement. So MMDA comes up with a solution of coding - something that would involve enforcement. So the problem is the solution. How did this guy pass his thesis? I wonder what school

[Bugatti Veyron]

The sad part of it is that the number of government vehicles keep growing and they too have no parking spaces. So you are prevented from using your car on your coding times but some government employee would use a government vehicle paid for by you.

 

You mentioned stupid laws. Who was the MMDA then when the coding started? At that time, there were already studies on Metro Manila traffic and one identified problem area was enforcement. So MMDA comes up with a solution of coding - something that would involve enforcement. So the problem is the solution. How did this guy pass his thesis? I wonder what school

As I recall, the main endorser of the coding scheme was former Lt. Col. Romeo Maganto. Thing is, traffic flow problems, is an engineering concern, best left to engineers to solve. Traffic enforcement is best left to the police and/or MMDA.

[FleurDeLune]

The sad part of it is that the number of government vehicles keep growing and they too have no parking spaces. So you are prevented from using your car on your coding times but some government employee would use a government vehicle paid for by you.

 

You mentioned stupid laws. Who was the MMDA then when the coding started? At that time, there were already studies on Metro Manila traffic and one identified problem area was enforcement. So MMDA comes up with a solution of coding - something that would involve enforcement. So the problem is the solution. How did this guy pass his thesis? I wonder what school

 

They’ll boil down to the same thing – stupidity.

[kalahupag]

I don't know what they did, but the 7:30 to 8:30 traffic along EDSA the whole week last week was OK.