Thinking outside the yellow lane: Are we doing it wrong on Edsa?

YELLOW LINES A worker repaints the yellow lines on the stretch of Edsa in Guadalupe, Makati City, on Sunday to clearly mark lanes for public vehicles. The Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group moves in on Monday to help manage traffic at choke points on the perennially congested belt highway. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Here we go again thinking that stricter enforcement is the answer. Yellow lane again. Can we start thinking out of that box, please? Can we start considering new ideas and concepts to solve our traffic problems?

The real problem we have on Edsa is space, or the lack of it. There are just too many vehicles using this highway, and no amount of stricter enforcement is going to add more space to what is there right now.

But if the real problem is lack of space, why are we reserving precious and limited road space for a class of vehicles that 1) stop at every corner or bus stop, 2) wait for passengers to fill up, 3) swerve into other lanes with impunity, 4) are half-full most of the time and 5) do not want to move fast?

There are two ways to solve the problem of space to accommodate more objects or people: The first is to enlarge the area, and the second is to shorten the length of time needed to remain in the area.

An analogy to show that this can be done is with a theater owner who has a capacity of 500 seats. If he can only be open for 12 hours a day and is showing a two-hour film, he can have six showings and accommodate 3,000 people.

If he wants to double his capacity but has no space to enlarge his theater, he would need to start showing one-hour films so that he could have 12 showings and now be able to accommodate 6,000 moviegoers.

Bottom line: Shortening the time needed to stay in a limited space means that you can accommodate more.

Equating this to Edsa, the implication is that instead of prioritizing space for buses, we should concentrate on getting the private cars out of this road as soon as possible. Getting these cars quickly out of Edsa by way of a fast lane would create more space for other vehicles on the road—something like carpool lanes on the freeways in the  United States.

This idea is based on the motivations of drivers on the road. Of all the drivers out there, it is the private car driver who wants to get home or to the office as soon as possible. This frame of mind, plus the fact that he can travel fast, means that he can and will be out of the road quickly if given the chance.

The drivers of buses on Edsa do not have that kind of motivation. They need to spend a few minutes at every bus stop to pick up passengers. They need to fill their buses to be able to pay their “boundary.” They need to stay on the road to make money.

These bus drivers do not care if they move slowly. They’re unconcerned that they’re blocking the way of everyone behind them. They move at their own pace.

If they move too fast, they won’t be able to pick up any passengers—and few passengers mean little income. It then benefits them to drive slow and pause at every bus stop. The “boundary” system will also guarantee that they will swerve to block the road and their competitors so they can take advantage of opportunities to load more passengers.

Suggestions: 1) Keep the buses inside the yellow lane. If they would move slowly, they can block their lanes. Private cars can go inside the yellow lane areas if these areas are vacant.

2) Create an Edsa Express Lane for private vehicles (the inner lane would do fine) much like the carpool lanes on the freeways in the United States. Delineate these lanes with traffic cones and rope them off so they really become fast lanes and other cars cannot just swerve into them and screw the whole thing up.

Think of it: The inner lanes of Edsa are already being used by cars. Why then can’t we just set up these inner lanes so they become express lanes to lessen the number of cars on Edsa as quickly as possible?

It’s about time that we lose this bias against private cars. We’re all in this together. The solution to the problem lies not in curtailing their existence but in giving them a network to get out of the roads as soon as they can. If we do that, we create space for the other vehicles on the road.

The setup would look like this:

Northbound

Entry points: Estrella Footbridge (start), People Power Monument

Exit points:  Ortigas Flyover (for Ortigas-bound), below Santolan Flyover (for Santolan/Cubao-bound, can U-turn to Camp Crame/Greenhills), below Kamuning Flyover  (for Kamuning/Kamias bound), GMA-7/DPWH (end)

Southbound

Entry points: Trinoma (start), after Quezon Boulevard overpass, VV Soliven (for Ortigas/Makati bound), SM Megamall

Exit points: Ortigas Flyover (for Ortigas bound), Guadalupe (for Makati bound), after Ayala Underpass (end)