Part of the solution

Much as one would want to agree with Sen. Sonny Angara’s view that the modernization program for jeepneys would be a better solution than a fare increase, the reality facing the country’s transport sector and riding public tells a different, harsher story.

Specifically that Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) which hikes the prices of fuel like diesel to considerable levels even without the global market forces that dictate the prices of fuel worldwide.

What makes it worse is that the TRAIN law is seen to progressively increase taxes on fuel in the next few years which will only force transport groups to raise their fares in keeping with the rising cost of living.

At least the senator had a point when he mentioned that scrapping the Oil Deregulation Law won’t serve to lower fuel prices since it had been shown prior to the TRAIN law that it had gone down periodically. Only it wasn’t as low as the public would want it to be due to the stinginess of the country’s oil firms which led to the transport sector’s initial refusal to lower fare rates.

Now that the TRAIN law had taken effect, transport groups are adamant about pursuing the fare rate increase though some of them have voiced reluctance in doing so citing the burden it would pose on the riding public.

In this light, modernizing jeepneys is but part of a proposed solution that seeks to cushion the effects of rising fuel prices on the commuters. Longer term solutions would be modernizing public transport to include the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and subways within cities and a fully functional train system that would connect towns and cities to each other.

In turn, these mass transport systems are better suited to infrastructure that is strategically placed and opened to accommodate growing urban centers such as wider roads and more bridges — something which the incumbent administration promised in its “Build, Build, Build” program.

And while even militant transport groups are acknowledging the public’s demand for better public transport they are adamant against the modernization program only because they believe it would cost more.

Rather they fear that this modernization would result in them being displaced by the so-called “corporativization” of the jeepney industry by Big Business which can afford to buy more of these solar-powered, more expensive units.

But there’s nothing that prevents them from getting organized and asking for assistance from the government which, based on President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncements, is all too willing to give.

Eventually it is up to government to build the road and bridge networks and acquire the mass transport vehicles that could accommodate the growing number of commuters in cities and link them to the countryside.