ACCIDENTS like the recent fall of a Don Mariano Transit bus from the Skyway put the pressure on the government for a tougher grip on bus franchises. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Monday morning produced not one but two horrifying bus accidents. The first is the widely reported crash and fall of a Don Mariano Transit bus from the Skyway onto a hapless delivery van, killing at least 21 persons. The second happened on a road 97 kilometers southwest of Cebu City. An intoxicated bus driver crashed on a downhill curve in Badian, Cebu, killing his wife and daughter, who were passengers on the bus. The woman’s skull was crushed and one of her hands was severed. The daughter’s head was severed. Nineteen other passengers were injured. The driver was so drunk that he didn’t realize that his family was dead until told so hours later.
THE PACITA-BOUND bus reduced to a crumpled sheet of metal. PHOTOS BY NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
These are merely the latest in a long list of accidents involving public utility buses. Take a drive on any day in Metro Manila and the surrounding highways, and you will witness just how reckless bus drivers go about their daily business. On Edsa, they jockey for position, weaving in and out of traffic. On Ortigas Avenue, they squeeze other vehicles to the curb, stopping anywhere they wish to pick up passengers. On the SLEx and Skyway, speeding is not unusual. Even cars driving at the 100-kph speed limit are routinely overtaken by these 5 tons of hurtling metal.
The question is: How do they get away with it? Buses are very big and can’t hide. The violations are very visible and done repeatedly. Reportedly, bus companies are owned by retired military officers, and off-duty police officers moonlight as the drivers. This seemingly makes it impossible to enforce rules and regulations, such as those against speeding and smoke-belching, that traffic enforcers are so quick to impose on other motorists.
THE ATIMONAN, Quezon, accident INQUIRER PHOTO
In 2011, the Don Mariano Transit was already on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) list of most dangerous Metro Manila buses, topping the list of causing the most damage to property. Its claim to infamy was crashing into and nearly falling off the Edsa-Ortigas flyover in July 2012. In August, another of the company’s buses was involved in an accident on the Magallanes flyover, which resulted in the death of a motorcycle rider. The LTFRB announced a preliminary one-month suspension for the Don Mariano Transit Corp., a slap on the wrist after such a deadly accident.
A major problem is the compensation scheme being implemented by bus companies for their drivers and conductors. They are being paid according to a “boundary” or commission system. The more passengers they are able to transport, the more they are paid. The result is the reckless driving and speeding that we witness every day.
THE SKYWAY counterflow incident INQUIRER PHOTO
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the LTFRB, supposedly the government agencies in charge of matters like these, attempted to implement a regular salary scheme for the drivers. By removing any incentive for drivers to behave like contestants in “Death Race 2000,” the LTFRB and DOLE’s move would have reduced road accidents. In a not-surprising move, the Supreme Court struck that down with a status quo ante order, effectively making the commission system stick, along with all the deadly driving.
Should the government run our bus system? Singapore’s public transport, run by a government-owned corporation, is one of the most efficient on the planet, with well-maintained buses arriving safely and on a dependable schedule. But given that our government is by many measures the exact opposite of the honest and efficiently run Singapore government, this may not be an ideal solution.
We recommend instead that the government be the sole franchise holder for public bus transport. Several “concessionaire” companies may then apply as contractors to actually operate the buses. The scheme has somewhat worked for the MWSS, with Manila Water and Maynilad Water being private concessionaires. If reputable business groups can profitably and efficiently run bus networks, this will cut down accidents and reduce the harrowing traffic being caused every day by unruly buses.
Canceling transportation franchises that are benefiting a few at the expense of the public will take political will. At the very least, it’s about time that we change the way the drivers are being paid. Every day that we don’t, we pay for it with hours wasted on our daily commute, and in lives that will be lost in the next tragic accident.
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