TOO often we are greeted with a news story about yet another bus accident causing injuries and loss of life. The latest occurred as 20 passengers were injured after a bus fell into a ravine in Tuba, Benguet province. In this case, it appears that the bus was “run off the road” by a speeding truck.
The Philippines has gained the reputation as a place where “rolling coffins” are allowed to operate with near impunity. We are not unique in this regard. But there is really little excuse for this to be a decades-old situation where public transportation can be so dangerous.
The Study on Speed Control of PUBs of the UP National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) shows that the accident rate for buses is six times greater than for cars, and five times as much for jeepney, taxi, or shuttle services.
Usually, these accidents are the result of either mechanical failure or driver negligence. The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the bus companies. Recently, due to public outrage, government agencies have been be more aggressive in fining and suspending some bus operators from doing business. But it is not enough.
The penalties are nothing more than a financial slap on the wrist, and business goes back to normal quickly until the next accident happens. Since 2010 it is reported that there have been nearly 11,000 bus accidents and many could have been avoided.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has the difficult task of monitoring and policing the bus companies, while, at the same time, keeping the transportation system going. But there must be ways found and implemented to reduce the carnage.
As part of a pilot program to be implemented in a few months, the LTFRB will require bus operators to install a Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on their buses. This is the recommendation of the NCTS as a viable way to discover habitual speed violators and to be able to take an appropriate response.
According to the LTFRB, an in-vehicle GPS device and communication system will continuously send speed and location data to a control center. A bus will be tagged as speeding when the in-vehicle GPS device exceeds the imposed speed limit. Bus passengers will also be able to monitor real-time speed of the bus through an on-screen display system installed in the bus.
What seems to be missing from the plan is how much and how often the bus companies are going to be penalized for their erring drivers.
The implementation will cost millions of pesos, which the bus companies and the government can afford. But it is so embarrassing to the Philippines that something as basic and simple as proper bus-driver responsibility has allowed to go unattended for so long and must be solved in this manner.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano