THE spate of road accidents involving public-utility buses (PUBs) that caused “serious damage to lives and property” has forced the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to soon require bus operators to install Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to their units.
The plan, whose pilot test has been set for the second quarter, will help regulate the speed limit of buses traversing national roads and highways, LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez said on Wednesday.
“Sobra ng nakakabahala ang sunud-sunod na aksidente sa ating mga pangunahing lansangan na nagdudulot ng kapinsalaan sa publiko dahil sa walang pakundangan at kaskaserong pagmamaneho ng mga bus drivers kaya naman maglulunsad ang LTFRB ng programa para limitahin ang bilis ng takbo ng mga PUBs,” he said.
The GPS device is the “best and most viable option recommended” under the “Study on Speed Control of PUBs” of the UP National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) in October last year.
Based on the UP-NCTS study, commuting by public transport is “much riskier than by car, with bus passengers exposed higher to accident risk.”
Calculating the accident rate per vehicle for each mode of transport, the study showed that the bus is six times more at risk than car, and five times more than jeepney or taxi or UV express service.
Since 2010 there have been 10,826 accidents involving buses.
“This study validates that there is an urgent need to regulate bus speed to prevent more road accidents from happening on our roads and ensure safety of the riding public,” Ginez said.
The current speed limit along expressways is 80 kilometers per hour (km/h), while in urban areas the speed limit is 60 km/h. The study recommends maintaining these limits but must be closely monitored and controlled using a GPS device.
“The use of GPS and associated communication system looks more viable considering cost and the ease in implementation and regulation,” the UP-NCTS study concluded. An in-vehicle GPS device and communication system that will continuously send speed and location data to control center will be installed soon in PUBs, Ginez said.
A bus will be tagged as speeding when the in-vehicle GPS device exceeds the imposed speed limit. Bus passengers can also monitor real-time speed of the bus through an on-screen display system installed in the bus.
Ginez said his office “will continue to enhance the device based on the results of the pilot test, including the establishment of effective communication protocols and reliable control center, as well as how to efficiently transmit and issue citations and violation tickets to over speeding bus units tagged by the device.”
Image credits: Jimbo Albano