Welcome to the gates of hell. This appellation was bestowed upon Manila a few months back by Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, who had not even encountered LRT during rush hour, else he would have known the true meaning of hell. “Blasphemy!” mutter some, shaking their heads upon hearing the cognomen. “He speaks the truth,” nod seasoned motorists, social media, and students with classes that end at five.
However, be it a heresy or an axiom, of late, something is amiss in this city. Vehicles along Taft have switched from motionless, to actually moving. This phenomenon is attributed to the exile of buses, better known as the bus ban, and recently implemented by local government following South Korea’s public transportation system. The bus terminals are strategically positioned outside Manila, in order to decongest traffic here.
Has the bus ban managed to debunk Brown’s statement? That is the question.
To Ban
Buses have been the reigning monarchs of the road for as long as anybody can remember. What these kings fail to remember, though, is that they are tanks, not ferraris. This misconception causes them to zoom at speeds that rival Roadrunner, and to zigzag across the street in a manner so haphazard that it is to be wondered whether they intend to get passengers to run over them. With their towering stature, these Goliaths have held the smaller vehicles in fear, trembling as the former blunders with all the grace of a nauseated elephant. But Goliath is defeated, and these smaller vehicles now ramp the road without fear, their adversary being ousted by the bus ban decree of Mayor Estrada.
What the mayor can’t oust entirely is commuter tyranny. This is the power inherent in every Filipino to have these modes of communal transport at their beck and call. The mighty bus is powerless against the majestic gesture of an outstretched arm whose hand waves back and forth, as it wishes to hail said bus. The jeep is entranced upon hearing the magic word of ‘para’, uttered in tones loud enough to awaken a sleeping dragon. It matters little when and where these two manifestations of power were performed- be it on a red light, at the side of the street, in the middle of the street, under the street – the bus or jeep will heed the call of their master.
In this sort of tyranny, wherein corporate greed places the whims of paying customers above the law, a severe lack of discipline thrives. Fortunately, the bus ban alleviates this, as forcing these buses to stay at their designated posts makes ineffective the hand gesture previously mentioned. Consequently, Filipinos realize that commuter tyranny has not the influence it once had, and realizing that their convenience is not above the law, instills in them discipline. Although commuter tyranny still lives, the bus ban is the first step towards it’s annihilation.
Not To Ban
There are two sides to every coin, and the bus ban does have its disadvantages. For buses that have no terminals in Manila, passengers are deposited in the city’s outskirts. Now the point of transportation is to get to the desired destination, and dropping them off at the city’s limits places these commuters at a great distance from their intended destinations in the city (unless, of course, their intended point of stop is at the limits). For people working in the city, this means that they could be late for work, and for students, late for their midterms.
It also adds to the transportation costs of commuters. Since they are now being dropped far away from their destinations, these commuters must now look for extra means of travel. Bus expenses aren’t the only thing on the transportation bill anymore. Add to that LRT/MRT, jeep, taxi, and one might as well just earn money for the sole purpose of paying for transportation fees.
And although traffic is lessened in the city, the areas at the borders experience immense traffic. Since the unloading of buses has been thoughtfully displaced in such areas, these roads leading into the city get gridlocked.
To ban or not to ban? Yours is the answer.
