14 wishes for 2014

WITH 2013 practically over, we always look forward, to the future, with hope, new goals, dreams and aspirations for a better life. Here are some motoring-related wishes for the New Year.

1.) More roads, more bridges, better public infrastructure.

Much talk has been said about how the P10-billion PDAF scandal money could have been better spent improving our nation’s infrastructure.

P10 billion is enough for a mega highway, for example, which could greatly reduce transportation time and cost for food and agricultural products. Which means lower consumer prices for the average Juan.

Or P10 billion is enough to buy about 45 carriages for the overly-congested EDSA-MRT3, which can, based on simple estimates, double the capacity ridership of the mass rail transit, thereby reducing Metro Manila’s reliance on buses.

Or build a new airport to improve tourism too! Mr. President, where are the PPP projects you’ve been boasting of? The Malampaya Gas Fund can also be used to improve public infrastructure.

2.) Better, safer public utility vehicles.  Failing brakes, bald tires, smoke-spewing engines, non-functional wipers, dirty, unsanitary interiors, these are common sights inside a typical public utility vehicle.

With the recent Skyway mishap which left almost 20 people dead, the government should tighten its scrutiny over public utility vehicles.

With over 5,000 buses plying the EDSA route which was originally designed for only about 1,000, we’ve got an over-abundance of death traps driven by maniacs who believe knowing how to drive simply constitutes knowing how to change gears in a manual transmission.

And you see loads of empty buses on EDSA mid-day. So yes, the government can and should tighten the leash on buses and other public utility vehicles. This will help improve safety standards, reduce vehicles which cause traffic on the road and force PUV operators to improve the quality of their vehicles.

Public transportation is also a matter of public trust.  Electronic speed limiters in buses are a good step forward, to prevent bus drivers from racing each other.

3.) Better driver’s training with stricter grooming, health, hygiene and cleanliness standards.

The government should strictly enforce higher standards for public utility drivers: they should be clean, well-groomed and, crucially, drug- and alcohol-free. Equally important is the need for monitoring drivers and their behavior while driving. Bus companies should install a black-box recorder inside all their buses to monitor their drivers, and in the event of an accident, replay the scene moments before the fateful event. This will help investigators determine the cause of the accident.

Of course, driving under the influence of alcohol and narcotic substances is a no-no. The PNP, LTO, DOTC and LTFRB should initiate random drug and alcohol testing at all major bus stops to ensure the safety of passengers and the security of all vehicles plying our major thoroughfares.

Should any public utility vehicle driver cause any offence, his or her license should be suspended for a minimum of one year. If caught driving illegally without a license, the erring driver should be jailed and the franchise operator’s license be suspended as well for one year.

Driving is not a right, but a privilege given to those trustworthy  to keep everyone safe and secure while on the road; it is a responsibility.

4.) Greater disaster preparedness.

In Metro Manila, we’ve experienced three trials by high water: Ondoy of 2009 and the Habagat monsoon rains of 2012 and 2013. Hence, Manileños are now greatly aware of the risk and have prepared accordingly: we buy tall-riding vehicles, our LGU units have lifeboats and flotation devices, we know where to park our cars in a pinch come flash floods, and we always have food, water and first-aid nearby.

But what of the rest of the country? Typhoon Yolanda, which devastated the Visayas is a stark reminder that natural calamities can and will happen, and rather than pray that it doesn’t come, we should be ready for the eventuality.

Better public infrastructure is crucial to this, as more roads and access points mean more means and ways to access disaster-hit areas. Local government units should properly utilize their manpower, train them for emergency situations and first-aid, invest in life boats, emergency ropes, flashlights and safety gear.

If you live in disaster prone areas, always have food and water and first-aid kit with you, flashlights, batteries, mobile phones always charged, and always listen to the news.

Then buy an SUV/pick-up, buy good off-road or all-terrain tires, a winch, some spotlights, and get proper driver’s training. And if there aren’t any disasters, enjoy off-roading!

5.) More institutions that focus on intellectual technology transfer from abroad.

The Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia (PTRCA) in Metro Manila, the Toyota School of Technology in Laguna, the BMW-supported  JCA Technology Complex in Northern Mindanao—we need more schools for our young population that will help teach, train and hone them to be globally competent, proficient and competitive.

Wishful thinking, but I do hope other manufacturers like Mitsubishi, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai follow suit. And hopefully these schools will not only focus solely on technical matters, but general education, culture and sports, functioning like a proper college or university, along with other technology-based curriculum.

Education is the key to a brighter future indeed.

6.) Stricter emissions and safety standards for all cars.

Most older cars, particularly public utility vehicles are perhaps the most offensive pollutants. Many of the problems can be traced simply to poor maintenance: clogged fuel delivery systems, weak ignition systems, dirty filters—essentially simple remedies, but if left unattended, can lead to more serious problems, or worse, break-downs which cause even more traffic.

Even the best Euro IV fuels won’t make a difference if our vehicles aren’t well-maintained and running properly. Both local and national government should strictly monitor and police smoke-belching vehicles, with immediate impounding or license cancellation until the vehicle is road-worthy, but at the proper venue, not just in the middle of the road on a busy day, which will cause even more traffic.

Inspection should be done at the LTO offices for private vehicles during their annual registration, along with the safety inspection of tires, wipers, lighting, and at the terminals and depots for public utility vehicles. It is our responsibility to keep our cars as safe and as road-worthy as possible.

7.) Lower fuel costs, higher quality fuels. 

Hopefully, the local economy really shifts to the next higher gear, which will improve the peso-dollar exchange rate, thereby improving prices for pump fuel.

Here’s hoping that the big petroleum companies also start introducing Euro IV fuels well ahead of the mandated 2016 roll-out to help reduce pollution and improve health and hygiene for commuters and pedestrians alike.

Hopefully government can also lower the tax rate of fuels and eliminate VAT to greatly help reduce the pump prices. Otherwise corrupt officials tend to just pocket the money anyway.

8.) The BIR witch-hunt ends

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has been viciously attacking the automotive industry, particularly high-end brands with the express goal of gaining the client database of these high-end brands, operating like the Gestapo, giving veiled threats to manufacturers and importers alike. It also makes people jittery over owning and driving their high-end cars.

While it is indeed important to go after erring tax evaders, Commissioner Kim Henares and the BIR’s tactics are the worst possible manner. Perhaps Commissioner Kim Henares should also look into her own ranks within the BIR for tax-evading individuals with unexplainable wealth and assets?

9.) The Road User’s Tax is properly utilized

The road user’s tax needs to be properly implemented and utilized because the framework is quite sketchy. How is the amount determined? Where does it go to and how does government make use of the road user’s tax properly?

There should be a system to properly determine road user’s tax, i.e., mileage-based on vehicles as is the case with some industrialized countries, and the funds should be used primarily to improving our roads: better paved roads, wider roads with proper pedestrian sidewalks, barriers to prevent jaywalkers from walking on the roads especially busy thoroughfares, traffic lights, pedestrian overpasses and underpasses, better overhead lighting, speed bumps, rumble strips … the list of improvements that can be achieved with the proper use of the road user’s tax stretches on forever. President P-Noy, are you still listening?

10.) LTO finally issues new license plates. 

New car buyers have been going around for months without any proper license plates for their vehicles. This is a serious security risk, as it makes these vehicles easier to fence when stolen. There has been much finger pointing as to who is at fault for the delay of the procurement and issuance of the new plates. Perhaps the license plate itself should be privatized completely, with the government just determining the alpha-numeric combinations.

The license plate itself would be offered through a number of valid license plate manufacturers rather than through a centralized and monopolized source, which is a hotbed for more graft and corruption. That’s how it is in many European countries like the United Kingdom.

Why can’t it work here? Last reported, it was DILG Secretary Mar Roxas who was the latest cause for the delay. Can our government stop pointing fingers and just assume responsibility? Be man enough to own the issue!

11.) Nissan returns to prominence.

Nissan, manufacturer of some of the sportiest, most exciting mass-market cars, has lost much of its luster in the Philippines, losing out on the renaissance of the Philippine motoring industry. They have amazing products: the R35 GTR, 370Z, Murano SUV, Pathfinder SUV, Juke cross-over—the list goes on.

And we’re stuck with the Almera, which appears so anodyne, so boring, it’s about as titillating as your grandmother in a red bikini. Yes, we need mass-market cars for sure, but we also need sporty and luxurious cars from Nissan to excite us, to inspire us, to allow us to dream, push us harder, to achieve more, and soar to greater heights. Then maybe one day, we can afford the really nice Nissans.

Finally, there is hope with the new Nissan Philippines. Here’s hoping we can expect full support from (Carlos) Ghosn-San from Japan. And please bring in the IDx Freeflow concept once it goes into production.

12.) Aston Martin and Lotus finally break ground. 

With the British invasion of 2013 being quite successful, the Philippines now has almost all the major British brands: Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Land-Rover and, the little know oddity called Morgan, which to this day we’re not sure where its address is, what it sells, and who is behind the brand locally.

But we need Aston Martin and Lotus on Philippine roads. Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis are becoming quite common; we need cool Britannia on our roads.

Fingers crossed, hopefully 2014 becomes the year that the British invasion is finally complete. And that I can finally properly fit inside an Exige. Now, anyone volunteering for McLaren then?

13.) The Philippine Motoring Industry breaches 230,000 units in 2014.

Industry insiders feel that 2013 will truly be the year that the industry surpasses 200,000 brand-new locally bought, officially imported vehicles, with some experts stating that the industry can hit 210,000 units by year-end.As of this writing, the industry sold about 190,057 units from combined sources from all major car manufacturers, excluding sales figures from Chinese car companies and Peugeot, from January to November 2013.

This 190,057 figure is the highest ever recorded in the industry for an 11-month period, and major manufacturers like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Subaru, to name a few, are confident that they can match and even better their 2013 targets with only a few days left before the year ends.

Here’s hoping that the industry can achieve the 200,000+ milestone in 2013, and surpass 230,000 units in 2014!

14.) All our project cars, restorations and racing aspirations come into fruition. 

The motoring industry has been at an all-time high, and so has the after-market industry been. Technology and know-how is readily available and getting more affordable. Car clubs, car shows and hard-parking car meets are becoming more common, and with Toyota inaugurating the Vios Cup One-Make Racing Series as well as Hyundai announcing the Elantra One-Make Race Series, buying, tuning, upgrading, track-driving and motorsports at the grass-roots level has never been more fun and easily accessible.

Support local manufacturers and suppliers; fabricate, build instead of buy. You will be happier and learn more from it. Hopefully, this means I stop spending on my Supra for modifications, repairs and maintenance work, and actually drive it more often.

So there you have it, the collective dreams, wishes and aspirations of the Inquirer Motoring Team, their friends and colleagues from both the media and manufacturers. If you have any you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.