WE are one in the corpuscled campaign for a smooth flow of traffic in the metropolis, particularly at Edsa.
Already, Metro Manila’s 77 chokepoints have long been pinpointed. But, alas and alack, have you seen a sustained government effort to un-choke even just one of them?
Once in a while, there is.
Overall, none.
Darn.
At Edsa from Monumento to Baclaran, for example, the notoriously famous clogged spots are Edsa-Roosevelt, Edsa-West Avenue, Edsa-Kamuning, Edsa-Nepa-Q Mart/Aurora Boulevard, Edsa-Crame, Edsa-Ortigas Avenue, Edsa-SM Megamall/Shaw Boulevard (a.k.a. Crossing), Edsa-Guadalupe, Edsa-Buendia/Ayala, Edsa-Magallanes and Edsa-Taft. I might have missed one or two. Sorry.
Quick-fix solution
AGAIN, the question: Have there been any government move in said chokers to employ a quick-fix solution, even if only on a Band-Aid basis? Sigh, hardly.
All we ever see from these traffic-laden areas are alleged law enforcers who merely watch vehicles piling up and going bumper-to-bumper, these so-called men in uniform practically doing nothing to untangle the web of metals stuck in gridlock for hours almost from Monday to Friday. Even Saturdays have now become traffic-infested nightmares, too.
And now this proposal to convert the Light Rail Transit Line 2 from Recto Avenue in Manila to Santolan along Marcos Highway in Pasig/Marikina/Antipolo into a road exclusively for public bus use named BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) System.
Sounds good.
“We will study this idea very well,” said Art Tugade, the no-nonsense transportation secretary. “With the right buses, we could carry more people there than the current train system.”
Copy only the good
EVEN as it is not an original of his, Tugade said the BRT is worth giving a piece of our brains.
“This is not a new concept,” Tugade said. “We’re just copying from Hong Kong and Shanghai.”
Not really bad to copy, for as long as the one we are copying is good.
But how about this other plan by Art to impose higher fees for owners of two or more cars?
Doesn’t sound good.
“We are looking very closely at adding higher registration fees for second cars,” Art has said.
Boisterous opposition
THIS early, I can see a boisterous opposition against it resonating. Not coming from the rich, of course, but mainly, from the not-so-rich.
You tax the very rich, no problem. Always, they can ill-afford even a mountain of fees tossed on their laps. Added fees to them would amount to nothing—at the very least a drop in the bucket.
But do that to the above middle-class, persevering always to improve their station in life—if not to keep up with the Joneses?
For sure, they’ll collectively cry “unfair!” And they’d be justified doing that.
Why punish the dreamers?
THESE days, the middle class, improving in life by the day, increasing in number by the day, also see the need for a second car to stay attuned to the times—times that now demand much movement to cover all bases they face every frigging day.
Why punish the hardworking, dreaming lot?
There has never been a time than now when the working class hero has become so uppity since the invention of microwave.
The planned new tax for cars, if carried out, could also drastically dent the government’s vigorous vehicle production incentive program envisioned by the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy project that had just been recently approved and embraced quickly by Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Anti-motoring industry
IN short, the planned new taxation is anti-motoring industry as it could push back growth and hamper the nation’s competitiveness in the jockeying for delectable vehicle market share in the Asean region.
But then, I worry not much. If I know Art Tugade that well, he’ll give it a serious thought. If he should even wrack his brains perusing the matter to the core, I will not be surprised one bit. And if, finally, he would dump it, applause follows—naturally. Always, APT—Art P. Tugade—has the heart for the downtrodden more than the upscale.
He came from the depths of the Earth.
PEE STOP Toyota’s Altis, again the best-selling compact passenger car for 2015, is being offered at a huge P25,000 discount for all its variants. Known worldwide as the car that sets your “heart pounding,” the Altis promo ends on August 31…Also, Montero Sport fans can still catch the muscle with a P140,000 all-in low down exclusively for its GLS 2WD 8-speed A/T model. Mitsubishi bigwig Froi Dytianquin said the promo, which includes the usual three-year Land Transportation Office registration and one-year comprehensive insurance, ends also on August 31…. Here’s wishing Wheel Gallery’s Johnny Tan well. According to his business partner Sam Liuson and charming wife Sahlee, Johnny had just undergone angioplasty and prayers are pouring in for his speedy recovery. Palakas ka, Pareng Johnny. Our dim-sum binges are waiting…
1 comment
As long as owning a car is a “dream”, there will be no solution to the traffic nightmare in Manila. The only way to tame traffic is to build quality public rail transport, not the pitiful thing now running in Manila. Do it Singapore-like. Singapore is a city wekll-known for the quality of its transportation system. How did they pay for it ? With hight taxes on car possession, a limit on the number of cars entering the market every year, and road pricing in the congested center. Owning a car is not a right. being able to go conveniently from one place to another is.