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I’M
tired of hearing about the rising price of oil and other
commodities, which is supposedly causing anxiety among
Filipino motorists.
In fact,
I don’t watch the news on television or even listen to
the radio these days.
The
reason is that I see paradoxical behavior among car
owners. Take the case of the spikes in fuel prices that
occur almost once or twice a week. Although a barrel of
crude oil is now nearing the $140 mark, heavy traffic
still prevails on most of our roads, especially during
rush hours.
If you
believe vehicle owners are afraid of the skyrocketing
cost of fuel these days, think again. It seems that they
don’t even want to consider the use of mass
transportation.
Although
they may commute and join human traffic once in a while,
it seems that the high cost of fuel is not reason enough
for many people to forego the comfort and convenience of
using their own vehicle. This is probably why traffic on
the road persists despite the fuel price hikes.
CARMAKERS of the world have no choice now but to create
vehicles that no longer use fossil fuels.
Vehicles
that run on alternative fuels will not only usher in a
new era in travel but will also help motorists cope with
the high cost of fossil fuels.
Harping
on current vehicles’ capabilities to save fuel is just a
“band-aid solution.” What is needed is a long-lasting
fix or “perfect antidote” to the crisis that is now
affecting the whole world.
“Cars
that travel without any oil cost” should be the main
thrust of car manufacturers worldwide. And they should
also start mass-producing those products that were
shelved long ago after undergoing long research and
development, such as cars that run on electricity,
hydrogen and even water.
Cars
that run on compressed natural gas are already being
used all over the world. And so, too, are hybrid cars
that are powered by a combination of electricity and
alternative fuels. But why they are still not produced
on a mass scale is a trillion-dollar question!
WITH the
government admitting to its windfall from the VAT on
oil, it’s time that it vigorously pursues the completion
of more roads and mass-transportation systems,
especially in the metropolis.
Metro
Manila is teeming with millions upon millions of
residents who travel all day long and cause monstrous
traffic during rush hours that no amount of traffic
enforcers, even on a 24-hour basis, can untangle. In
short, the government is spending a lot on those traffic
enforcers, which is another “band-aid solution.” What we
need are roads and bridges, simple flyovers and
secondary roads that will carry the load of the
ever-burgeoning vehicle population.
Take the
case of our highways leading to the south and north of
Manila. Essential commodities from the provinces are
slow in coming into Manila, simply because they are
always caught up in the heavy traffic. Heavy traffic
also means an increase in fuel consumption, which is
being transferred to the people through the increase in
prices of essential products. Traffic is always heavy
at the entrance of the Nlex and the Slex because the
roads and highways going there are simply too narrow.
Widening of the entrances to the gateways to the south
and the north would be a simple solution.
Another
example is Edsa, which is a huge “battleground” for
vehicles. Luckily, secondary roads like the C5 have been
made to decongest the traffic on Edsa. Unfortunately,
the benefits of C5 are now being eroded by the growing
number of vehicles on the road. So, creating another
secondary road that motorists can use must be seriously
considered.
Limiting
the number of buses on Edsa is another simple yet
excellent solution, but it seems that nobody wants to
lift a finger to minimize the presence of these buses.
Building
mass-transportation systems such as the railways
throughout Metro Manila and connecting to outlying
nearby provinces is another excellent idea since it
would decongest our roads and encourage people to walk.
I think
some of the best systems that the government must see
are those in Japan and Singapore. They are such small
countries but they created mass-transportation systems
that have managed not only the boom in their human
population but the vehicle population as well.
“Proper
and systematic planning” are simple words that our
government needs to adhere to. But if those words are
being used in preparation for something big in 2010,
then forget about what I’ve said! |
