Before I left the office for Mall of Asia and then Makati, I was half-dreading the heavy traffic I've been hearing purportedly due to Christmas panic shopping and to early vacationers going the highway routes. It was only a half-dread, because somewhere inside of me, I was also wishing for a traffic free journey, that everyone else would hopefully be on their way from the usually busy metropolis to far far away from everyday work.
I almost had a wish come true. I left welcome rotunda at 4:00pm and dropped my brother at U.N. by 4:20, and got to MOA by 4:30. After some last hour shopping, I left MOA at 5:50, got to RCBC by 6:14, and on my way to U.N. again for a rendezvous at 6:45.
And then there's the road to Quiapo. It's Christmas time and it's traffic from Lawton to Quiapo church. Why? Three lane mergings have become five lane stand stills, two lane bridges have become three lanes. And jeepneys and buses still are selfishly blocking lanes. There's no season of sharing in the traffic scene of the Philippines.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Too Much Competition Bad for Transportation
Public transportation in the Philippines is a plethora of modes of transportation. From the few ancient railways and the newer light rail transits serving the metro, to the road hugging buses and the (in)famous jeepneys our Department of Tourism seems to be proud of, to the more expensive taxis and fx, to the tricycles, pedicabs, and kalesa's (horse-pulled carriages) plying the old towns, it might not be too rare to see these present in some roads all at the same time.
Such variety arguably puts strain to our humble and mostly ill-planned roads. But such could have been improved upon if not for the little regulated, privatized competition present in all but the decidedly singular trains on their singular tracks.
Because of competition, we see jeepneys and buses racing against each other, to get to the next pool of would-be passengers. To make matters worse, these passengers can be just about anywhere. We see jeepneys counter flowing just so they can be at the head of the traffic, to be the first in line waiting for the green light, so that they can have the first choice of passengers. Jeepneys and buses would accelerate quickly only to decelerate just as fast, causing flaring tempers, wasted gas, more pollution, and slow average traffic for the next few hundred meters back. Buses come out of their lanes to overtake, but only to go back after exactly one bus, again to get passengers, while successfully blocking two or three lanes in the process, causing tens or hundreds of vehicles to crawl on the highway.
This is traffic, made in the Philippines. Is there hope? Not any time soon. I still can't believe the gall of one jeepney driver a few years back who said that heavy traffic is caused by private cars. That sure came out of nowhere.
Such variety arguably puts strain to our humble and mostly ill-planned roads. But such could have been improved upon if not for the little regulated, privatized competition present in all but the decidedly singular trains on their singular tracks.
Because of competition, we see jeepneys and buses racing against each other, to get to the next pool of would-be passengers. To make matters worse, these passengers can be just about anywhere. We see jeepneys counter flowing just so they can be at the head of the traffic, to be the first in line waiting for the green light, so that they can have the first choice of passengers. Jeepneys and buses would accelerate quickly only to decelerate just as fast, causing flaring tempers, wasted gas, more pollution, and slow average traffic for the next few hundred meters back. Buses come out of their lanes to overtake, but only to go back after exactly one bus, again to get passengers, while successfully blocking two or three lanes in the process, causing tens or hundreds of vehicles to crawl on the highway.
This is traffic, made in the Philippines. Is there hope? Not any time soon. I still can't believe the gall of one jeepney driver a few years back who said that heavy traffic is caused by private cars. That sure came out of nowhere.
Gas/Diesel Price Map in the Philippines
I don't track gas prices much. The vehicles I've used for the past two years all use diesel. I've observed that the cheapest diesel prices change from location to location. At the start of last year, prices by the coastal road and near the NAIA airport seem the cheapest. Now, they're more expensive. A few months ago, it seemed to me that gas prices in Pampanga (and probably in other provinces) are cheaper than in Manila. Recently, I've noticed that gas prices in NLEX are cheaper than most in Metro Manila, when before, it's the exact opposite. My favorite gas stations never last.
So maybe an updated map of diesel and gas prices would help. That way, map users can reward gas stations that offer cheaper prices, and help in the fight against uncompetitive price control. Today, I found out there's already an attempt to do just that: http://www.tipidgas.com/. There's much that can be improved on the user interface front, but the gist of it, a map of gas stations with documented prices, is there.
I can't say whether it's successful or not. I've only given it a cursory check and it seems some (if not most) prices are a few months old already. Oh well. Such a project can't easily be covered by just one person listing all the prices of gas stations he or she passes by. This project demands community support, much in the same way www.openstreetmap.com was made. Willing contributors must update gas prices they encounter frequently. People who will make use of the website, by then going to cheaper gas stations, can update the prices and date of validity as they encounter changes. It's a lot of work for a lot of people. Is it worth it?
It sounds like a more practical approach to getting cheaper gas prices is to gas up to full tank once you've found the cheapest gas or diesel among a set number of stations or locality. You don't have to wait for an empty tank to start buying gas -- by then, you won't have much opportunity to shop around, and you lose choice of where you can gas up. There's no guarantee of getting the cheapest rates, but at least you're guaranteed of not getting the other end of the stick.
So maybe an updated map of diesel and gas prices would help. That way, map users can reward gas stations that offer cheaper prices, and help in the fight against uncompetitive price control. Today, I found out there's already an attempt to do just that: http://www.tipidgas.com/. There's much that can be improved on the user interface front, but the gist of it, a map of gas stations with documented prices, is there.
I can't say whether it's successful or not. I've only given it a cursory check and it seems some (if not most) prices are a few months old already. Oh well. Such a project can't easily be covered by just one person listing all the prices of gas stations he or she passes by. This project demands community support, much in the same way www.openstreetmap.com was made. Willing contributors must update gas prices they encounter frequently. People who will make use of the website, by then going to cheaper gas stations, can update the prices and date of validity as they encounter changes. It's a lot of work for a lot of people. Is it worth it?
It sounds like a more practical approach to getting cheaper gas prices is to gas up to full tank once you've found the cheapest gas or diesel among a set number of stations or locality. You don't have to wait for an empty tank to start buying gas -- by then, you won't have much opportunity to shop around, and you lose choice of where you can gas up. There's no guarantee of getting the cheapest rates, but at least you're guaranteed of not getting the other end of the stick.
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