We understand that most decision-makers in both government and the business sector are blessed with their own private vehicles. They can comfortably go from one place to another without the hassles of public transportation.
That does not mean they should be oblivious to the daily struggles of ordinary commuters, whom they are supposed to serve.
We saw the harrowing effects of hastily thought up—and poorly communicated and chaotically implemented—policies on hapless commuters anew last week, created by the confusion about the so-called window hours, as set by the Metro Manila Development Authority supposedly to help ease traffic on major thoroughfares.
The window hours are from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. During these hours, provincial buses are allowed to use their private terminals in Metro Manila.
But outside of these hours, for the rest of the day, the buses must use integrated terminals like the North Luzon Express Terminal and the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
Last week, however, passengers found themselves stranded because some bus companies did not ply their routes beyond the window hours.
The MMDA and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board are blaming the bus operators for reneging on their “gentlemen’s agreement,” holding their passengers hostage as they insist on being allowed to use their terminals in Metro Manila at any time, not just during the window hours.
In fact, the bus operators—Victory Liner, Bataan Transit, Five Star Bus Company, First North Luzon Transit, Maria de Leon and Genesis—have been issued show cause orders and asked to explain why they did not operate outside the window hours when they were allowed to do so. A hearing has been set for May 10.
Congestion on our major thoroughfares was already a problem before the pandemic, and is again emerging as a challenge because of the economy opening up and people going back to work.
It is a shame that stakeholders in the public transport industry—the government and the businesses that provide transport services—failed to agree on and commit to the details of a scheme that is supposed to make transportation easier, not more difficult, for ordinary citizens who need to physically go to work to earn a living.
By forgetting the public service nature of their business and focusing on their egos as they defend their hasty solutions, it is—as is tragically always the case—the people who are left as pawns, suffering the consequences of decisions of those who may not have even experienced waiting indefinitely for a ride home after an exhausting day at work.
The government and transport companies need to get their act together—and remember that they are supposed to serve the public, not punish it.
