Do buses belong on tollways?
On Nov. 13, 2018, an official of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) announced in a radio interview that a ban on buses along elevated parts of the Skyway (a 32-km elevated tollway from the Alabang-Zapote Rd. in Muntinlupa to Gil Puyat Ave. in Makati) was being considered because over-speeding buses are a safety hazard along the major expressway. He reassured that the proposal was still being studied and that no decision had yet been made.
This issue raises important questions about the objectives and priorities of government in managing our transportation infrastructure and services, including toll roads. expressways and tollways, whether elevated or at ground level, that carry millions of bus passengers each day.
By using the Skyway, buses often have faster and more predictable travel times than traveling on SLEX at ground level. This is true, for example, for many buses that come from Alabang and other urban centers south of Metro Manila.
Because buses carry many more passengers than any other vehicle on the Skyway, they deserve highest priority in the use of the Skyway. Conversely, if we deny buses the use of the Skyway, we would be favoring private cars over public transport, which would be a huge setback in government’s efforts to promote sustainable mobility.
We have seen in recent months significant benefits from buses using the Skyway. For instance, P2P buses using the Skyway from Alabang are able to offer a fast and convenient alternative to using a private car. Bus operator surveys indicate that from one-quarter to one-half of P2P passengers are former or potential car users.
Having a fast and convenient bus service promotes the “modal shift” (from cars to public transport) that we need to alleviate traffic in our cities. If we force buses to travel along a more congested road with longer travel times, we diminish the attractiveness of buses as a transport option.
The driving behavior of many bus drivers is definitely a cause for concern. But banning buses from using expressways and tollways will not address the root causes of the problem. It simply transfers the bus safety issue to another part of the road space.
Already, there are speed limits for buses set by TRB, LTO and LTFRB. In addition, there is a law, the Road Speed Limiter Act of 2016, which requires buses to install an internal device that would automatically prevent the vehicle from exceeding a certain speed limit. This law needs to be implemented consistently.
On improving bus driver behavior, we need to look at the “carrots and sticks” that influence a bus driver—traffic rules and how these are enforced (sticks) and the incentive system for drivers (carrots). Bus drivers behave better if they know that their driving is being monitored continuously and that they will be penalized if they commit a violation.
Effective enforcement of speed limits will be achieved by greater deployment of automatic speed detection devices (e.g., speed-measuring radar guns, GPS-based vehicle tracking, etc.) that can systematically detect and record violations. Traffic citations can then be sent by mail or courier to vehicle owners or drivers, eliminating any direct human contact. MMDA has already successfully designed and implemented this “no-contact apprehension” approach; it could be easily replicated on all tollways.
As required by LTFRB, GPS vehicle tracking devices and CCTV cameras need to installed in all buses to enable regulators to know the location and speed of each bus in real time and to record any incidents. If bus drivers know that their driving is being monitored at all times, there will be a marked improvement in bus safety. Because many lives will be saved, the operationalization of the IT system to track all buses needs to be given highest priority by DOTr.
The more important intervention is to change the bus industry business model. Today, many city bus drivers are still paid a commission (traditionally, about 10 percent of the fare collection) and are therefore motivated to maximize the number of passengers and total fare revenue.
This incentive system promotes on-street competition among bus drivers that leads to risky driving behavior and causes congestion at bus stops and intersections. Driving faster means more round trips, capturing more passengers, and collecting more revenue. Drivers also tend to work unreasonably long hours to maximize their daily take-home pay—some as long as 16-18 hours a day. Under the current business model, the “carrots” for the bus driver are all in the direction of exposing bus passengers to higher risk.
An alarming statistic was released just a few days ago. MMDA reported that between January to August 2018, an eight-month period, there were a total of 5,441 separate bus collisions in the National Capital Region—an average of 23 bus collisions per day. Eleven incidents resulted in fatalities; 349 crashes caused non-fatal injuries, while 5,081 vehicles or properties were damaged.
The transformation of the bus industry business model is urgently needed if we want to achieve high quality, safe and convenient public transport services. Drivers need to be paid attractive fixed salaries and benefits, with reasonable limits on working hours. Bus operators’ income should be linked to kilometers served rather than to ridership, so that we avoid on-street competition among bus operators. This is the new business model envisioned under the bus rapid transit (BRT) projects of DOTr, with existing bus and jeepney operators involved in the provision of the new bus services.
To enable local governments to be accountable for public transport outcomes, the city or metropolitan government can establish a public transport agency that will collect fare revenue and then pay private sector bus operators to provide the transport services, under a performance-based contract with incentives and penalties. This is the industry structure that has delivered outstanding mobility outcomes in cities like London and Singapore, while enabling the bus industry to operate with service standards, transparency, financial stability and customer-orientation.
Rather than expel buses from tollways and expressways, TRB should consider how to best operationalize the directive of the recently-approved National Transport Policy to “focus on moving more people than vehicles” and to give priority to “public mass transportation…over private transport”.
Here is one idea: Help buses move more efficiently through expressways. On congested sections of tollways and expressways, provide a dedicated lane for buses. At ollgates, the lane for buses should be “barrier-free” to enable buses to pass through without stopping. Tollway operators can organize appropriate payment arrangements (for example, bus operators could maintain a deposit to cover toll fees and replenish the fund regularly). The tolls to be paid by each operator could be reckoned using a combination of camera-based vehicle plate recognition technology and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, so that buses can move through the tollgates without stopping.
Buses using tollways would have faster and more predictable travel times. Bus riders would get home sooner. Car users would shift to using public transport, easing road congestion and reducing harmful vehicle emissions.
In keeping with its vision of serving the public interest through efficient tollways, TRB should reflect on how it can achieve toll roads that are “people-oriented” rather than “car-oriented”. Prioritizing buses on toll roads could be TRB’s significant contribution to sustainable and inclusive mobility.
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Robert Y. Siy is a development economist, city and regional planner, and public transport advocate. He can be reached at mobilitymatters.ph@yahoo.com or followed on Twitter @RobertRsiy
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