By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
In every major city in the Philippines, traffic is a blight in transportation. That’s why, when I happen to be in another place or city which does not have a traffic problem, I find it a relief. Siem Reap in Cambodia is one such relief of a place. It is literally teeming with tourists but you don’t find traffic snarls. Of course, development there is much slower than us-at this time.
Baguio’s traffic situation is like Siem Reap’s in the late 80s or early 90s. Now it has gone berserk. Well, even in La Trinidad that is now the order of the day. According to studies, heavy traffic is causing a lot of losses, economics-wise. In Metro Manila, bad traffic is said to result to losses worth two billion pesos daily. I don’t know how they arrived at such huge figure but if you are running a business there, you can easily relate to it.
Bad traffic can only worsen in the very near future. For one thing, there are very few new roads that are being constructed but local car sales are consistently breaking records every year. That means only one thing: that the streets will continue to be flooded not only because of poor drainage but also due to overflowing of cars. What is making the situation even worse is the lack of parking, the reason why many vehicles are parked on roadsides, even in national highways.
There was a design recently made by a group of University of the Cordillera experts for the Burnham Park. An integral part of it is a multi-level car park that can accommodate more than 1,000 cars at a time. If really implemented, it can help ease some traffic load and provide more convenience to locals and visitors alike. But such structures are just a very small part of the solution to the traffic dilemma.
It is high time that a train system in major cities like Baguio with a booming suburb such as La Trinidad should be immediately considered. The Philippines has one of the earliest train systems in Asia but sadly, it was not sustained. I can still remember the abandoned railroad tracts at the center of Calle Azcarraga (now Claro M. Recto) in Manila. There was even a rail line in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac. And for those who know, they can not forget the major North rail line connecting Manila to San Fernando, La Union. I used to ride this line when I was in high school. Cebu also had a line as well as some parts of Negros. They have one thing in common. They are already consigned to history. Only the South line, linking Manila to the Bicol region is still alive, but now barely breathing
While our Asian neighbors have appreciated the vital role of this transport system, we threw them out of the window. All Asian countries with booming economies have relatively developed or are currently developing their train system to move people and merchandise. The system is simply that important.
A commuter train system from Baguio to La Trinidad or up to Tublay should be a good solution to our lack of roads and unmanageable volume of vehicles. Another line going to Ucab, Itogon will serve the same purpose as one that could reach Central Tuba.
The commuter train systems in Metro Manila, starting with the LRT line built in the 80s are serving so much number of people there. Yet, traffic is still so bad. Whenever I commute to Metro Manila, I almost always ride the LRT or the MRT, never mind if riding the latter comes with ominous danger due to bad management. Bad management, yes, that is a common ground why our early train systems became moribund and ultimately died.
When the LRT line first rolled, convenience in commuting was an apt description. Riding it last week was a harrowing experience, to say the least. Imagine yourself climbing the train in its point of origin in Munoz, EDSA already standing, squeezed in between perspiring people and further squeezed in after every stop, then you will hardly have the verve to alight at the end of your journey. And you may swear to yourself: “I will never ride this train again”.
In my years of riding trains in Europe, convenience is its companion. They have money of course, but when they started it, they were in the same financial predicament that we are in now. So, the financial crunch should never be used as an excuse for us not to develop our own train system, even in the Cordilleras. I can vividly recollect the times when the train arrives in a station which was late by 10 seconds, yes you read it right-ten seconds. the navigator was already very apologetic saying: “I am sorry the train was late by ten seconds”. This was in Germany. What I would like to say is that, if the train system could materialize, we could make it efficient by sheer determination, devoid of any corrupt intentions.
The train system will definitely eat into the income of jeepney operators. So, if a train system will be planned it could be announced 5 years in advance so that affected jeepney operators and makers can plan their alternative livelihood within that span of time.**
