Philippines / Metro Manila / Transport

Traffic is one of the major problems of the metropolis. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, of October 10, 1989, "the trouble with traffic is that you have 40 percent of all vehicles in this country in Metro Manila with a terrific concentration in the business-commercial district." And the paper notes in its issue of January 5, 1990, that "for about 5.5 million daily commuters in Metro Manila and an additional two million migrant workers from nearby provinces, getting rides on scarce buses and jeepneys is a daily ordeal. Eight years ago, it took an average of only 30 minutes for a commuter to get a ride during the rush hours. According to a survey of the Department of Tansportation and Communication, it now takes one hour to two hours for a commuter to get a ride." Senator Victor Ziga once observed that "helpless thousand of commuters from all sectors were stranded for hours, unable to get rides, spilling into the already narrow thoroughfares jostling each other to cling to already full buses and jeepneys as if clinging to life itself."

The source of the problem is possibly a sharp decline in the number of public utility vehicles and at the same time an increased population and a higher flexibility of the inhabitants of Metro Manila. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer of January 5, 1990, "the past year saw three big bus companies, in a span of three months, close shop because of rising operational costs and labor problems. Transport officials have cited low returns as the principal cause of the decline in bus units from 5,000 in 1981 to the present 2,000 units."

One particular traffic problem in Metro Manila is air pollution from vehicles. It seems that it's not mainly the number of vehicles aggravating this problem but the condition of the vehicles; many are not only old but also do not have their engines adjusted properly which makes them terrible smoke belchers (and increases their operation costs). The authorities have started several times a drive against smoke belchers but a result can hardly be noticed.

Anyway, at least the campaign seems to help fill up the city coffers: "Despite the reported irregularities that plagued the government's anti-smoke-belching campaign in Metro Manila, the authorities managed to apprehend 5,492 smoke-belching vehicles and collected P950,000 in fines for the month of August alone, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said... Since the campaign was intensified in June, Dayrit said, 13,568 smoke-belching vehicles have been apprehended compared to 3,914 from January to May 1989. Total for 1989 stands at 17,482 while collection in fines now total P3.5 million" (Daily Globe, September 9, 1989)

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