In defense of the private car owner

Just about the only thing going for owning a car and using it in Metro Manila these days is the convenience of having a car.

Why is it always our fault?

Whenever someone writes an article about the traffic problem in Metro Manila the number of private cars and their taking so much space on the road is sure to be mentioned. I wonder if these articles are written by non-car owners whose perception of the problem extends only to as far as their eyes can see.

Yes, there are cars as far as your eyes can see but really, how many drivers in those cars do you think are enjoying themselves?

You think they are happy? You think they wouldn’t prefer riding a train to work and having someone else do the driving and spending for the gasoline?

There is/was this bus company with trips to Northern Luzon that kind of put it all in perspective. They printed the line: “Next time, relax. Take our bus and leave the driving to us” at the back of their buses. Pissed me off a lot of times.

Just about the only thing going for owning a car and using it in Metro Manila these days is the convenience of having a car. That would mean not having to line up for hours on the MRT or suffer on a bus that stops at every corner or ride a cramped jeepney or even fear for your life in a taxi.

Your car will allow you that extra wink of sleep in the morning, save you from that tricycle ride from the main road to your house (that costs just as much as the bus from Makati) and well, give you the freedom to come and go as you wish. For the family, it means making sure the kids are in safe hands during the hatid-sundo routine and out of town trips are quality bonding times.

However, everything comes with a price. Your gas bill could be half of what you earn for the day and the cost of repairs and spare parts can drain your bank account, among other things.

Throw in the fatigue from the daily traffic and the aggravation that comes with it and there will be days when you wish you didn’t need to grasp a steering wheel every day. And oh yes, we shouldn’t forget the parking fees you need to shell out.

So think about it: Take away these conveniences of having a car and there wouldn’t be a reason to drive one. Metro Manila has to be one of the worst cities in the world to have a daily driving commute.

The point is this: We car owners aren’t enjoying it. Not one bit. I haven’t met a happy Metro Manila car owner, lately.

Give us an alternative that works and we will take it. Give us an effective mass transportation system (preferably with a “park and ride” feature) and we won’t bring our cars to our offices and schools and business centers.

Look at New York City and its surroundings. Almost every family in the suburbs owns a car but not everyone drives to Manhattan every day. Most commuters take the subway.

There is a mass transportation system available in NYC. That is the right and effective way to take the private cars out of the streets—provide an alternative that works.

Because we don’t want to be out there causing traffic jams. It is the private car owners who want to get home or to the office as soon as it is possible. It’s no fun being caught in traffic. The buses and taxis and trucks and jeepneys—these are the guys who want to stay on the roads. Not us.

So why don’t we turn our present model on its head. Instead of making sure that the buses travel faster on lanes reserved for them, why don’t we reserve lanes for the private vehicles so they can get out of the way faster?

The basic concept involved is using the motivation of our private car owners to get to where they want to go, as fast as possible, to improve our traffic flow. Works like this: Instead of bus lanes we have car lanes. It will be the other way around: Buses and jeepneys should not be allowed outside the yellow lanes.

There will then be a group of drivers, on lanes reserved for them, who have the motivation and who can and will travel fast to their destinations. Faster traffic, right?

What we now have are bus lanes—the complete opposite. We prioritize and reserve lanes for buses who want to stop for passengers at every conceivable opportunity and who can cut outside their reserved lanes at any time they want to.

In effect, we have reserved precious road space for vehicles that are taking their time to get to their destination. Go figure.

Bus lanes (and jeepney lanes too) are a pro-masa solution that caters to this thinking that more should be given to those who have less. But the laws of physics don’t give a damn who is rich or poor. Big, half-filled buses moving slowly and blocking the roads are clogging our main roads and ultimately, if this goes on and on, all of us will be poor.

How does P2.4 billion in costs per day sound to you?

The author is a columnist of Inquirer Golf Magazine.