Traffic congestion in urban Cebu is almost as bad as that of Metro Manila, but curtailing car ownership per se will not solve this problem, said transportation engineering expert Dr. Primitivo Cal yesterday.
He said traffic restraints should be imposed instead, such as parking controls or increasing parking fees.
Cal, who undertook the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transportation Studies (MCLUTS) from 1978 to 1988, the only comprehensive traffic study made of urban Cebu, spoke in a press conference yesterday to mark the start of the 11th Eastern Asian Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) International Conference in Cebu City.
But Cal also cautioned that number coding, where cars are restricted from using the public road on particular days of the weeks based on the odd or even number of the license plate, a scheme used in Metro Manila, is ineffective.
“Studies, including the studies that I have done, show that instead of improving the situation, it (number coding) actually worsens traffic because the private car owners can afford another car to address the number coding problem…So now you have more cars on the road,” Cal said.
Although the number of private vehicles in the country is increasing, it is still low compared to those in other countries in East Asia, he said.
“The vehicle population in the country has been increasing, but one factor that has to be taken into account relative to car ownership or vehicle ownership among countries in Eastern Asia, is that we still belong to the lower part in terms of vehicle ownership,” Cal said.
He called on Cebu authorities yesterday to address the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Cebu, which he said is becoming similar to that of Metro Manila.
Cal said Cebu can do one of three things to ease traffic: maintain or decrease the demand (for cars), increase capacity for cars, or maintain capacity and make it more efficient.
There should also be a shift in mindset from riding in one-person or two-person cars to public transportation that can carry bigger groups of people at any given time, he said.
“That’s where we should all head to,” Cal said.
Cal, a former transportation undersecretary, noted that Cebu is headed in the right direction with the P10-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
“We have to act, and indeed there are actions being done. In fact, in terms of public transport, you note that Cebu City is ahead of even Metro Manila. There’s now a detailed engineering of a BRT system,” he said. A similar BRT system is still being proposed for parts of Metro Manila.
However, Cal warned that the BRT system should be studied comprehensively.
Jeepney routes should be reviewed in tandem with planning for the BRT. The routes should be considered part of the total package in the BRT system, he said.
Nigel Paul Villarete, chairman of the Cebu organizing committee and general manager of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, said delegates discussed the increasing number of cars on the first day of the conference.
“If your traffic network will maintain its capacity, at the end of the day, maybe it’s months, maybe it’s years but definitely there will be congestion,” Villarete said.
The worsening traffic congestion in several cities in the Philippines is in the agenda of transportation analysts gathered in Cebu City for the three-day EASTS International Conference.
The conference, which opened yesterday, will also serve as venue for the exchange and sharing of experience and knowledge about best practices in transportation among the East Asian members.
Reynaldo Vea, TSSP president and second vice president of EASTS, said a special session on Philippine metro transport systems will be held today. Among the topics to be discussed are the Metro
Cebu Infrastructure Roadmap, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and lessons learned in implementing rail projects in the Philippines.
The EASTS conference, held every two years, gathers transportation experts from 18 member countries in East Asia, namely Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.