Simple Solutions: Traffic

In its ongoing effort to ease the chaotic traffic situation in the capitol city, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is about to spend another P50 million to install "loading bays" for public buses along EDSA. The basic idea here is to build a series of fences, through which buses will be chanelled (a lot like the loading chutes used to herd livestock into pens). According to MMDA, we have to resort to this costly measure because bus drivers simply refuse to follow the rules. MMDA first tried to enforce order by painting yellow lanes down the entire length of EDSA, designating one lane for buses and the rest for private vehicles. But, like most rules in the Philippines, this one was simply ignored by everybody.

One of the main causes of congestion along EDSA is the fact that buses race each other in an attempt to pick up more passengers. Drivers don't like to pull completely over to the side of the road because that takes too much time, and somebody else might get to the next stop first. Buses even block each other when they stop, angling in front of another bus which is already stopped, so the other guy can't leave first. The bottom line is, it's a simple race to pick up the most passengers.

Despite popular opinion, this is not an issue of driver discipline. The reason is actually pretty obvious, and it gives us another example of solving a problem by understanding the root cause. Bus drivers are paid a commission for each passenger they carry. If they don't aggressively compete for passengers, they lose money. These drivers are not bad guys, and they aren't necessarily law-breakers. They are just trying to make a living, under the conditions that are laid out for them. Anything we do to slow them down will mean less money in their pocket. And that means that no matter what rules we impose, or how many fences we build, drivers will continue to violate those rules every chance they get. Survival will always be a higher priority than civic responsibility for these drivers.

The simple solution then, is to require transportation companies to pay their drivers a fixed salary, which does not depend on the number of passengers carried. Bus owners, and even some drivers, will argue that this is unfair, and that it interferes with their ability to earn. But the reality is, the same number of passengers will still be waiting at the bus stops every day. The only loss of income will be to those companies and drivers who use the most aggressive tactics on the road, and we can certainly do without those guys. In fact, when you take away the reason for aggressive competition among bus drivers, you open the door to the kind of organized, scheduled public transportation system that we have always wanted. And the improvement in traffic flow will be nearly instantaneous.

Obviously, this will require a new law or two, and there will be resistance. But the benefit will be well worth the effort. We should consider the same idea for taxi operators too, to help eliminate some of the problems that exist there. But I will hold that argument for another time.