Proposed Traffic Management Plan

LAND TRANSPORTATION

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN

1. Impose a total ban on parking by all types of vehicles along all national public roads 24/7, except in cases of emergency and government sponsored or recognized social events, to maximize the use of the existing national road network for land transportation rather than for vehicle parking.

2. Impose a partial ban on parking by all types of vehicles along all local public roads 16/7, except from 10pm to 6am daily, during non-working legal holidays, in cases of emergency and government sponsored or recognized social events, to maximize the use of the existing local road network for land transportation rather than for vehicle parking.

3. Impose an outer lane rule on all motorcycles and similar type of vehicles applicable to all national and local public roads 24/7, subject to reasonable exceptions depending on actual traffic conditions, where the said vehicles are required to use only the outer half of the singular lane or outermost lane, to avoid the existing dangerous situation where motorcycles criss-cross other motor vehicles while all are in motion.

4. Pending the gradual phase-out and refleeting of all public utility tricycles, impose a total ban on tricycles along all national public roads 24/7 except to cross said roads, to avoid the existing situation where slow-moving tricyles slow down the entire traffic flow by occupying the center part of the lane and preventing vehicles in the rear from overtaking.

5. Pending the gradual phase-out and refleeting of all public utility tricycles, impose an outer lane rule on all tricycles along all local public roads 24/7, where the said vehicles are required to use only the outer half of the singular lane or outermost lane, to avoid the existing situation where slow-moving tricyles slow down the entire traffic flow by occupying the center part of the lane and preventing vehicles in the rear from overtaking.

6. Impose a loading and unloading rule designating limited stops for loading and unloading passengers by all public utility buses, jeepneys, FX, vans and multicabs, along all national and local public roads 24/7.

7. Remove all unauthorized structures, constructions and obstructions along all national and local public roads, to maximize the use of the existing national and local public road networks.

8. Give first priority to the repair and maintenance of the existing public road networks, and the restoration and rebuilding of the dilapidated public roadworks such as shoulders, sidewalks, culverts and aqueducts, and the widening of intersections of the existing road networks, to maximize the use of limited public funds allocated for infrastructure by maximizing the use of the existing national and local public road networks;

second priority to the construction of new national and local road networks in conflict areas where armed rebels are known to operate, to the full extent practicable, taking into consideration the safety and security of the construction personnel and equipment; and

last priority to the widening of the existing road networks apart from the intersections, including the construction of flyovers, skyways or tunnels, unless the project is financed by the private sector under a public-private partnership which may proceed immediately without regard to this priority scheme.

9. Give first priority to the repair and maintenance of tracks and carriages of the existing railway system, second priority to the acquisition of additional carriages for the existing railway system, and third priority to new rail and carriage systems, to maximize the use of limited public funds for infrastructure, by maximizing the use of the existing rail and carriage systems.

10. Replace the existing bus system with the bus rail transit (BRT) system, starting with EDSA and progressing to the smaller national roads after, to maximize the use of the existing national public road networks. Along EDSA, the BRT shall use the innermost lane adjoining the Metropolitan Rail Transit (MRT), and use the same stations of the MRT for loading and unloading passengers, after the stations are expanded to accommodate the additional flow of passengers from the BRT. The BRT system may be pursued under the public-private-partnership concept. The existing bus operators may be granted reasonable opportunity to merge or consolidate under a single entity and bid for the BRT system.

11. Phase-out and refleet all the existing public utility tricycles with multicabs, for faster transportation and more efficient use of road space. The phase-out shall not exceed three (3) years which is the minimum period to fully depreciate a new tricycle unit or to earn a return of investment in such unit. The refleeting may be pursued under public-private-partnership concept, where the proponent will buy all the public utility tricycles offered for sale, and sell or exchange the multicabs to the tricycle operators.

12. Phase-out and refleet all the existing public utility jeepneys with multicabs, vans and FX, for faster transportation and more efficient use of road space. The phase-out shall not exceed three (3) years which is the minimum period to fully depreciate a new jeepney or to earn a return of investment in such unit. The refleeting may be pursued under public-private-partnership concept, where the proponent will buy all the public utility jeepneys offered for sale, and sell or exchange the multicabs, vans and FX to the jeepney operators.

13. Impose a total ban along all national and local public roads 24/7, and/or deny or cancel the registration of all private and public motor vehicles, except heavy equipment and military vehicles, and after a grace of not more than three (3) years, that are incapable of a cruising speed of at least 60 kilometers per hour, to avoid the proliferation of slow moving vehicles along public road networks that slow down the ideal average flow of traffic.  The grace period shall not exceed three (3) years which is the minimum period to fully depreciate a new motor vehicle.

14. Regulate the design and build of new vans and jeeps to comply with the standard specifications of the multicab, vans and FX, to avoid the proliferation of underpowered, oversized, and slow-moving vehicles with large turning circles, that ordinarily cause traffic along public roads.

15. Prohibit the rebuild or remanufacture of old vans and jeeps in a manner that substantially deviates from the standard specifications of the multicab, vans and FX, unless specific authority for justifiable purposes is secured from the department of transportation and the department of trade and industry, to avoid the proliferation of underpowered, oversized, and slow-moving vehicles with large turning circles, that ordinarily cause traffic along public roads.

16. Consolidate the various private terminals for buses, jeepneys, FX, vans and multicabs under a single land transportation terminal at a designated entry and exit point for a specific area, with smaller satellite terminals for short routes within the metropolis, city or municipality, to avoid the existing chaotic scheme where each public utility bus operator is authorized to operate its own bus terminal located virtually at random within highly populated areas, and where groups of public utility jeepneys without legal authority take control of substantial parts of the existing national or local public roads usually at or near intersection areas for use jeepney terminals. The land transportation terminal may be pursued under the public-private-partnership concept. The existing public utility operators may be granted reasonable opportunity to merge or consolidate under a single entity and bid for the land transportation terminals.

17. Integrate or link by convenient access the land transportation terminals with the existing seaports and airports, to maximise the use of all public ports by facilitating the transfer of passengers or cargo from one port to another.

18. Establish a traffic management council at the national, regional, metropolitan, city and municipality levels excluding the provincial and barangay levels, because the city and municipality cover the entire country without any overlap in local jurisdiction, the province is ordinarily too large while the barangay is usually too small to manage local traffic problems, and the city and municipal governments are most efficient if not burdened with turf issues in relation to the mother province or component barangay. Traffic problems involving adjoining cities and municipalities are then more effectively addressed at the metropolitan, regional and national levels.

The traffic management council at the national and regional levels shall be comprised of representatives from the department of transportation, department of public works and highways, department of trade and industry, department of interior and local government, land transportation office, land transportation and franchising regulatory board, toll regulatory board, philippine national police and other agencies with land transportation traffic related functions. At the metropolitan, city and municipal levels, the council shall be comprised of all the foregoing, plus all the mayors or the mayor concerned.

The representative of the department of transportation shall be the ex-officio chair of the council at the national level, the head of the regional authority if any at the regional level, the head of the metropolitan authority if any at the metropolitan level, and the head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for Metro Manila. The mayor shal be the ex-officio chair of the council at the city or municipal level.

19. Centralize with the national government through the traffic management council, the traffic management over all national public roads and adjoining local public roads, because the use of national roads is a matter of national interest that overrides local interest. Traffic management shall include but not be limited to the number coding scheme (that bans travel by motor vehicles according to its plate number) and the truck ban scheme (that bans travel by trucks during specified hours of the day and during specified days of the week), to avoid the existing chaotic scheme where each local government unit is autonomous in imposing its own number coding and truck ban regardless of traffic implications that go beyond its territorial jurisdiction.

20. Franchise the deployment and use of public utility watercraft within inland and coastal waters, to complement the public utility vehicles that ply the existing national and local road networks, in providing faster but safer public transportation.

The material was written ex-gratia by Demosthenes B. Donato for the

We Citizen Advocates for Reforms Movement (We Care), Inc.

(Kilusan ng Mamamayang Nagmamalasakit sa Bayan).

All intellectual property rights are granted to the public domain.

Makati City, Philippines. 14 May 2016.