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Level up on buses in the Philippines
I chanced upon the demonstration run of an articulated bus for the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and participants of a workshop on crowd-sourcing that was being conducted that day. After seeing the interiors of the bus, I decided to ride in a vehicle following the bus to take a few photos of the vehicle and also catch the reactions of people along the street who might be seeing an articulated bus for the first time. The demo run (and others in the future) should give people an idea of what road transport still has to offer in terms of vehicles that could carry more people.
Articulated bus approaching the EDSA-Ortigas intersection
Articulated bus manufactured by MAN
Inside the bus, there is space for more passengers than 2 regular buses can accommodate
I like the look on people along the streets that the bus passed along. Some were scratching their heads and others had to have a second look (double take) at the long vehicle.
Articulated buses are not new to public transport operations. Singapore’s SMRT operates many of these buses along busy routes. Below is a photo of an articulated bus passing in front of the Central Fire Station across the Funan IT Mall.
SMRT articulated bus passing in front of the Central Fire Station in Singapore
There are other types of buses in service in cities in other countries such as double deckers, and bi-articulated buses (equivalent of about 2.5 regular buses). These buses require skilled driving to ensure safe operations including maneuvering at intersections and terminals. The buses should be suitable for routes with passenger demands between those requiring regular buses and rail transit like routes that can be designated for bus rapid transit (BRT), and with scheduled stops. I am quite optimistic about the future of public transport in Metro Manila and other cities where buses should play a significant role for mass transport.
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Rizal Avenue – Part 2: Tayuman to Pampanga Street
In the last post on Rizal Avenue, the featured photos show conditions under the LRT Line 1, which included visual evidence of certain issues like on-street parking, poor lighting and even sanitation (i.e., garbage) along the corridor. This post features more of the same and perhaps worse in some cases that are used as proof of the blight caused in part by the LRT superstructure. I say in part because LRT Line 1 is not wholly to blame for problems under and around it. Local governments and the private sector share responsibility for the decline of the areas within the direct influence of the rail line. Napabayaan. But of course, this does not absolve proponents of the LRT Line 1 for poor station design.
Approach to Tayuman Station along the northbound side of Rizal Avenue.
Tayuman Station – shown in the upper part of the photo is one end of the northbound platform.
Underneath the station, jeepneys clog the lanes as they load/unload passengers. LRT Line 1 stations are poorly designed for intermodal transfers (e.g., LRT to jeepney, LRT to bus, etc.).
Tayuman Road is a busy street in Manila that’s served by jeepneys connecting to major streets like Lacson Avenue to the east and Abad Santos and Juan Luna to the west. The photo shows a view to the east of the LRT Tayuman Station.
Approach to the junction with Herrera Street
Approach to Blumentritt Station – the station is named after Ferdinand Blumentritt, an Austrian who was a close friend of the national hero Jose Rizal. The street leads to a large public market close to the station (near the intersection) that is also named after the fellow and one of the more crowded markets in the metropolis. There are many jeepney lines with Blumentritt as part of their routes.
Birds and other creatures being sold as pets around Blumentritt – many have been painted to attract children and other buyers curious at the colored birds.
Vendors line the Rizal Avenue, Blumentritt and the other side streets in the area, which is usually crowded no matter what day of the week it is.
Angry birds? A closer look reveals the birds as chicken chicks colored by the vendors to attract interest. Sadly, many of these do not survive to become full grown chickens and children (and adults) will be disappointed to discover later that the color comes off pretty quick when the chicks come in contact with water.
There is a PNR Blumentritt Station and unless there’s been some radical clean-up of the area, this is pretty much what you’d see around the station – garbage, dirt, informal settlers and other characters. The building behind the station is a public school.
The PNR Blumentritt Station has two platforms on either side of the double track. Security is quite lax and people, including children, cross the tracks freely. Fortunately, train service frequencies are quite low (about 1 per hour) so the risk of getting hit by a train is also low. The photo shows the view to the east of Rizal Avenue.
On the left side of Rizal Avenue is a scene where people are oblivious to the railways with some even doing their cooking between the tracks.
Blumentritt Avenue is a very crowded street with a public school (building at right) just across the public market (at left). There are many vendors lined along the street and people as just about everywhere and without regard to vehicular traffic.
Traffic congestion along Rizal Avenue is attributed mainly to the market and median barriers were constructed to reduce pedestrian crossings anywhere along the road. Commercial establishments line either side of Rizal Avenue, basically contributing to congestion in the area.
Commercial establishments plus customers plus paratransit equal to traffic congestion
16A busy side street in the Blumentritt area – there are no sidewalks so pedestrians and motor vehicles mix it up along the road.
Bulacan Street serves as an informal terminal for jeepneys. The road appears to be newly paved but there are no sidewalks and tents are found along the road often bearing the names of politicians sponsoring the tents for various purposes such as wakes and parties.
Intersection with Pampanga Street, just before Rizal Avenue and the LRT line turns towards Aurora Boulevard and proceed to Caloocan City and Monumento.
More on Rizal Avenue in future post…
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Streets of Olongapo: Rizal Avenue
Olongapo City is located in the Province of Zambales, the only city in that province, and beside the Subic Freeport. It is a pioneer in public transport service innovations in the form of the first initiative on the color-coding of jeepneys according to their routes. Despite what seemed to be forever being linked to the Freeport in terms of economic development, the city has enjoyed continued growth and is currently experiencing more challenges attributed to this growth. Among these challenges are those pertaining to traffic congestion and public transport services for the city. A Transportation and Traffic Management Plan Study was conducted by UP Diliman through the National Center for Transportation Studies and is up for formal adoption of the city.
Following are photos taken along the city’s main street, Rizal Avenue, where many of the city’s transport and traffic problems are manifested.
Cyclist pedaling along Rizal Avenue beside a yellow jeepney taking passengers at the designated stop at curbside. Downstream are parked vehicles along the road.
More parked vehicles at either side of Rizal Avenue effectively reducing road capacity for the 4-lane street.
On-street parking is a problem for the city as there are few, if any, off-street parking facilities in the city. On-street parking turnover is quite low since many of the parked vehicles are not clients or customers but establishment owners or managers.
Most of Rizal Avenue is undivided but there are median barriers along the section in front of the public market to reduce jaywalking among pedestrians.
The section in front of city hall – just across are many commercial establishments and on-street parking.
Another view of the Rizal Avenue, this time along the westbound side, with the the market on the left side. The yellow jeepneys are quite conspicuous and remind me of the UP Ikot jeepneys.
A monument to the Ulo ng Apo, from which the name of the city is said to be derived from, is right in the middle of a rotunda at a major intersection along Rizal Avenue. Around the rotunda are commercial establishments and a major provincial bus terminal.
There are designated stops for jeepneys along the avenue but these are often crowded out by parked vehicles. As a result, jeepneys could not maneuver properly and end up unloading/loading passengers in the middle of the road.
On-street parking along curves tend to impede the flow of traffic. There are also issues where electric posts like the one shown in the photo have not been transferred, posing risks to vehicular traffic.
Another example of a designated jeepney stop along the avenue where parked vehicles constrict maneuvering space for jeepneys.
A monument to the volunteers of Olongapo during the Mt. Pinatubo episode after the closure of the U.S. Naval Base in what is now a Freeport. I wonder if the building under construction in the photo has enough parking spaces for the traffic it generates.
More jeepneys and more on-street parking – there is a perception that there are too many (oversupply) of jeepneys. Note though that most PUJs in Olongapo are not the bigger 20 to 24 seater jeepneys we see in Metro Manila but the older, 16 to 18 seaters like the ones shown in the photo.
Some on-street parking spaces are “reserved” by establishments. I didn’t mention that on-street parking is free of charge and such situation probably encourages longer parking durations. Perhaps the city should seriously consider parking fees to reduce long-term parking and ensure smoother flow of traffic along its streets. There are examples of these parking schemes in other cities including Makati City that Olongapo can adopt and adjust.
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The commute to the airport
Traveling from our home in Antipolo to the airport in Clark, I decided to take the MRT to the Quezon City Air Terminal (QCAT) from where I would be taking the Clark Airport Rail Express (CARE) to the sparkling new terminal at what is a fast growing aerotropolis north of Metro Manila. It was an easy commute from the station near my home and a convenient one considering the e-Pasahe integrated commute card that I could also use for the C5 subway line or the Quezon Avenue BRT. Soon, all the jeepneys and buses would be accepting the card for fares. 100% of taxis were already accepting the card for payments and the electric tricycles were surprisingly ahead with 90% accepting the e-Pasahe card. I made sure my card was topped up when I left the university yesterday so I could also use it to buy a drink or a meal while at the airport. The convenience of the card reminded me of the Suica and Pasmo cards I used while traveling in Japan.
Upon arriving at the QCAT, I proceeded to the check-in counters to drop-off my luggage. I had already checked-in online so I just had to leave my bag at the express lane. I was already excited about the direct trip to New York, on board Cebu Pacific’s newly delivered A380, where I would be meeting up with the wife who’s already there for a conference. Unfortunately, we won’t be on the same flight home as she was taking the PAL’s non-stop Dreamliner service to NAIA.
On-board the CARE train to the airport, I had a quick but good view of Metro Manila as the train emerged from the underground tunnel for its surface run from Bocaue, Bulacan. It was still early in the morning and the sun was just rising. It felt good to see that there was much less smog covering the metropolis. All those electric and hybrid vehicles have made a significant impact on reducing air pollution and improving air quality. I decided to have a power nap for the rest of the trip and awoke minutes later to find out everything was just a dream.
🙂
Happy April Fool’s Day!
Buses speeding along Commonwealth Avenue
Traveling along Commonwealth Avenue last Holy Thursday, we couldn’t help but notice the buses racing against each other along the wide highway. One bus speeding along the motorcycle lane almost hit a motorcycle along that lane. Traffic was free flowing and speed limits obviously were not being enforced or followed. Running at 60 kph, our vehicle was always passed by buses and cars alike, their drivers probably enjoying the wide space and the knowledge that there will be few if any traffic enforcers along Commonwealth. We saw a few underneath the Tandang Sora flyover but they were relaxed and seem to turn a blind eye over speeding violations along the highway. The video below was taken last Thursday and showed three buses speeding along Commonwealth, occupying lanes that they are not supposed to be using (Note: Public transport are supposed to run along the two outermost lanes of the highway marked with yellow lines.)
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Rizal Avenue – Part 1: Carriedo – Bambang
Rizal Avenue stretches from Manila northward to Caloocan city from Carriedo to Monumento. What used to be one of the more cosmopolitan streets in Manila was transformed (some say blighted) by the construction of the elevated LRT Line in the early 1980’s. Carriedo, for example, used to be a popular shopping street along with Escolta. Those were times when there were none of the huge shopping malls now scattered in Metro Manila and people came to Manila to shop.
The following photos were taken while we traversed Rizal Avenue as part of a recon we were conducting for a project with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) back in 2011. I’m not sure if there have been any significant changes along Rizal Avenue and I am not aware of any recent programs to improve conditions under the LRT Line 1.
Approaching the LRT Line 1 Carriedo Station from the McArthur Bridge
Under Carriedo Station, one experiences first-hand what people have been saying about the area being blighted by the LRT 1 structure
Poorly lighted? It was broad daylight outdoors when we conducted the recon but underneath an LRT 1 Station it can get quite dark. Of course, aside from the need to improve illumination, perhaps authorities can also improve the environment including the cleanliness of the area under the station. A common complaint is garbage and there are those saying the area smells of piss (i.e., mapanghi).
Past Carriedo Station, it was brighter and perhaps the area can be developed so that stretches can be pedestrian friendly. Maybe there should also be restrictions on vehicle parking, which tends to make the area look congested. It would be good to have a strategically located multilevel facility in the area where most vehicles can park instead of along the streets as shown in the photo.
5More roadside parking plus the presence of tricycles contribute to traffic congestion in the area. People are everywhere walking and crossing anywhere. The arcades where they are supposed to walk along are mainly occupied by vendors or merchandise of stores/shops occupying the ground floors of the buildings along the street.
Each side of Rizal Avenue is surprisingly wide with 3 lanes per direction. One lane is effectively used for on-street parking while the other two are for general traffic. There are no lane markings at the time we passed by the area so there can be confusion as to lane assignments.
Approach to the junction with Recto Ave. and the LRT Line 2, which is also elevated and at the 3rd level as shown in the photo.
Rizal Ave.-Recto Ave. intersection – visible downstream in the photo is Doroteo Jose Station
Provincial bus terminal between Doroteo Jose and Bambang Stations
The Sta. Cruz district and particularly the Bambang area is well-known for shops selling medical equipment and supplies. Medical, nursing and other students of allied medical professions as well as professionals come to Bambang to purchase equipment and supplies from these shops, which offer items at lower prices.
LRT 1 Bambang Station
Rizal Ave.-Bambang St. intersection beneath the station
Two large government hospitals are located in the area between Bambang Station and Tayuman Station – San Lazaro Hospital and Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center. Both are run by the Department of Health (DOH), which is located beside Jose Reyes.
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Informal transport at PNR Bicutan Station
On our way to a meeting at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Bicutan, Taguig City, we crossed the PNR line running parallel to the SLEX. I quickly took a photo of the scene to the right of our vehicle that showed an informal market and terminal. The informal market or talipapa is one you would usually finally elsewhere in many other places in the city and likely caters to mostly informal settlers residing along the PNR ROW. On our return trip from the DOST, we took the same route and again I quickly took a photo of what was on the other side of the road along the same PNR line. On the other side was the PNR Bicutan Station and what appears to be a clear ROW northbound towards Manila. Much has been accomplished in the clearing of the PNR’s ROW over the past years and the efforts included the relocation of many informal settlers in coordination with the local governments along the PNR line.
The PNR Bicutan Station on the north side of Gen. Santos Ave. near the SLEX Bicutan interchange
Non-motorized trolleys on the south side of Gen. Santos Ave. near the SLEX Bicutan Exit
The trolleys are informal transport vehicles serve people living along the PNR ROW including many informal settlements within and without the PNR property. Some of the buildings or structures of these informal settlers are visible in the photo downstream of the railroad crossing. There are similar cases in Manila and elsewhere along the PNR ROW including motorized trolley services in the provinces of Quezon and Camarines Sur, where trolleys are also utilized for public transport and are the means for livelihood by some of the same informal settlers.
There are increasing safety concerns for these vehicles, their operators and their passengers. The trolleys are lifted from the tracks an people clear the way once a train approaches. They return after the train has passed. With the PNR currently experiencing a revival of sorts, and if resources continue along with an increase in ridership, train frequencies should also be expected to increase. As such, there should come a time when trolleys would have to be banned along the entire line in order to minimize the chances for crashes involving trains and trolleys that will surely lead to fatal consequences. Perhaps the local governments along the PNR line should already look into this eventuality and initiate programs to address this issue, which can be associated with livelihood and residential concerns.
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The Economic Case for Rail Subsidies
Today, I’m sharing a nice article on rail subsidies from The Atlantic Cities:
Namumulaklak
The Filipino term “namumulaklak” usually refers to flowering plants when blossoms appear around the equivalent of springtime. This term has also been used to describe passenger behavior, sabit or to hang, particularly when public transport vehicles are already full and the more daring people hang at the door of the vehicle. When one says namumulaklak yung jeepney (the jeepney is like a flowering plant), this refers to a several passengers dangling from the rear door of the vehicle such as what is shown in the photos below. Perhaps the one who coined the phrase sees the jeepney as a bouquet with the people hanging behind as the flower buds?
Jeepney along Marcos Highway in Pasig City
I took the preceding photo while traveling along Marcos Highway en route to Antipolo, Rizal. The corridor has been served by jeepneys as far as I can remember. The scene is one you’d see every time during peak periods despite prohibition of this practice by authorities. Jeepneys easily evade being apprehended as the driver or conductor of the vehicle usually accepts only a few hangers-on and asks the latter to dip their heads so police or traffic enforcers cannot easily see the violation as the jeepney approaches. One or two people hanging behind the jeepney is quite common and generally tolerated along many roads. Enforcers says they are usually against excessive sabit when the risks are higher that one would fall off the jeepney.
This behavior is not exclusive to Metro Manila jeepneys but may be observed in other cities and towns as well. In certain cases such as Baguio City in the north, there are even passengers on the roof of the vehicle. While more unsafe, the behavior is tolerated and, surprisingly, there are minimal incidents of people falling off. Some foreign tourists are even offered rides on the roof and those seeking some thrill often oblige and just try to keep a tight hold on whatever that will keep them from falling off the vehicle.
Jeepney along Kennon Road heading up to Baguio City
Another jeepney along Kennon Road
Jeepney along National Road in Bondoc Peninsula, Quezon
Another jeepney along the national highway in Quezon
I used to hang behind jeepneys when I was commuting back during my college days. I had to take 2 jeepney rides between our home and UP Diliman. Those times it was quite difficult to get my first ride to or from the old jeepney terminal near Katipunan Avenue. To get a seat will take you a lot of time or would require one to go to Cubao where there are queues for jeepneys passing our village. Going to Cubao meant spending more for fares and so we would usually try to chance upon jeepneys with none or few sabit so we could be relatively safe under the rear roof of the jeepney rather than dangling outside. Many jeepney drivers seem to revel in trying to shake off people as they drive recklessly along the spacious Marcos Highway. Among the most notorious are jeepneys plying the Antipolo-Cubao via Sumulong Highway, Cubao-Montalban, Angono-Cubao (Double Highway) routes, particularly those which as regarded as patok (popular) jeepneys with their signature loud stereos blaring rock or hip hop music.
There are calls for enforcers to apprehend more violators and be firm with the law against such risky behavior on public transport vehicles. These calls are correct and there should be a strong campaign to reduce sabit. But what is usually lost in the road safety discussion is the reality that such behavior stems from the fact that there is unserved transport demand along the routes served by the jeepneys. This unserved demand means the supply side needs to be addressed first by determining why people are having difficulties getting seats when these are needed. It is not simply a coincidence that the time when it’s most difficult to get a ride is during the peak period. But this does not mean we have to provide all the vehicles with the equivalent number of seats during this time. Note that the resulting number of public utility vehicles will be excessive as they are not required during the rest of the day. The key is to understand that the travel speeds and turnaround times of public transport needs to be improved, and that means addressing congestion and not just increasing seating capacities for passengers by increasing vehicles. This is actually a daunting job and one that requires some clever analysis considering the overlapping routes in many Philippine cities. Perhaps one approach is really to simplify route structures and this can only be done if there are mass transit systems that can provide backbone services for most commuters.
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The Streets of Bacolod: Around the Public Plaza
The streets surrounding the Bacolod Public Plaza are one-way streets following a counter-clockwise circulation around the plaza. Typical of plazas of old, the latter has around it the church (in this case San Sebastian Cathedral), the old city hall, commercial establishments, the police headquarters, and a major school (La Consolacion College). The following photos were actually taken a year ago in February 2012. I doubt if much has changed since then but the circulation and traffic situation should practically be the same give and take the normal traffic growth due to progress for the capital city of Negros Occidental.
Intersection of San Juan St. and Gonzaga St. (view along San Juan St. towards southwest)
Intersection of San Juan St. and Luzuriaga St. (view from east corner of intersection towards Westown Hotel)
Roadside parking along San Juan St. Noticeable above are the motorcycle parked along the road, with some occupying pedestrian crossing space.
Old cities like Bacolod have buildings featuring arcades like this where pedestrians have the ROW and are sheltered from the elements. I was glad to see that the city basically cleared these facilities from obstacles. It is not entirely without impediments though as shown in the photo.
Luzuriaga Street (view towards southeast)
Arcade of Plaza Mart building along Gonzaga Street and across from the Bacolod Public Plaza (view towards Araneta Ave. and Gatuslao Street)
Another view of the arcade of Plaza Mart, this time along San Juan Street (towards Luzuriaga St.)
San Juan Street (view from the corner at Gonzaga Street) – at right is the Plaza
Gonzaga Street (view at corner of the Plaza along San Juan Street) – vehicles downstream are at the intersection of Gonzaga St. and Araneta Ave. Further downstream is Gatuslao Street
Rizal Street taken from the plaza side and featuring San Sebastian Cathedral
Rizal Street leads to SM City Bacolod, which is found in the reclamation area. (View from the intersection of Rizal St. with San Juan Street)
Steel barriers along Rizal Street prevent vehicles crossing the street from the northeast side of San Juan St. All traffic must turn right towards SM. (view from the corner of San Juan and Rizal along San Juan towards the southwest direction) The PNP headquarters is the building on the opposite corner with the blue roof.
Intersection of San Juan Street and Luzuriaga Street (view along San Juan St. towards southwest)
San Juan-Luzuriaga intersection (view from Westown Hotel corner)
San Juan-Luzuriaga intersection (view along Luzuriaga St. towards southeast)
Luzuriaga Street is also a one-way street and with significant roadside parking as shown in the left side of the photo. View of traffic coming from the intersection with San Juan St. Westown Hotel is the building at left.
The circulation scheme at the plaza seems to be working out well at the time. This is despite the proliferation of roadside parking along the streets and around the plaza. The streets are relatively wide and so a one-way scheme works well in terms of taking advantage of the capacities of the streets while allowing for curbside parking that typically occupies one lane of road space as shown in the photos above. We didn’t see anyone charging parking fees for the vehicles and so we assume that these are practically free though we did see some informal “watch-your-car” boys who rely on tips from those parking along the road. Ultimately, though, the city should look into the provision off-street parking facilities as I can imagine traffic congestion, for example, in the vicinity of San Sebastian Cathedral on Sundays. Traffic in the area should be expected to increase as the city continues to experience economic growth and more developments ultimately locate at the reclamation area.
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Caught (up) in traffic 
