How we serve our clients
Credit to Author: ROBERT SIY| Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2018 17:24:52 +0000
For the longest time, the LTO was the butt of jokes regarding terrible client service, especially about applying for and renewing driver’s licenses. The process took many hours, with allegations of irregular practices and with applicants hounded by fixers. In those days, all the LTO could issue was a piece of paper, with no firm date for issuing the actual plastic card.
This past week, I renewed my driver’s license at the LTO satellite office at Robinson’s Galleria and was pleasantly surprised. The process took only 20 minutes from start to finish. Within those 20 minutes, I was able to fill out the application form, complete the medical exam, pay the license renewal fee, review the information to be placed on the new card, and allow my picture and other biometric information to be captured by the LTO computers.
The steps in the renewal process were laid out clearly. There were many chairs available in case one needed to sit. The staff were polite, cheerful, and responsive. They took pride in their work. They were eager to deliver the best service to their clients. This is what we need to see more of in government. Good job, DOTr and LTO!
How can we replicate this model of “client-responsiveness” in other transport-related services? Let’s take a look at how some of the needs of commuters are being recognized and addressed.
Queues are the most visible indication of the hardships that commuters endure, as well as the insufficiency of public transport. During rush hour, huge crowds of anxious commuters congregate around bus stops, hoping to find a bus that they can board. People at UV Express terminals often queue for more than one hour just to catch a ride home. We see hundreds of thousands of Filipinos suffering the daily humiliation of competing against each other for limited spaces on different transport modes. Precious time is wasted, instead of spent with loved ones, or at work, study or leisure, or in keeping healthy.
This situation is not uncommon and not surprising. After all, there has been a “moratorium” on new franchise issuance for over ten years, at the same time that both urban populations and local travel demand have grown. With worsening congestion, our public transport supply, set more than a decade ago, is now seriously inadequate.
We need to increase the supply of public transport as soon as possible. In Metro Manila, the quickest way to do this is to waive the “number-coding” of public transport vehicles, Under the number-coding rule (imposed by MMDA and some Metro Manila local governments), one-fifth of jeepneys, buses, UV Express, and taxis in the metropolis is restricted during weekdays. This is to reduce the total number of vehicles, including private cars, using the limited road space.
The number-coding rule is without justification and socially unjust; its only purpose is to leave more road space available for private cars while disadvantaging the vast majority of Metro Manila residents who rely on public transport. Lifting this rule would immediately reduce the length of queues and get many more people home earlier. Exempting public transport vehicles from number-coding on a permanent basis would be the best gift that the government can offer to Metro Manila commuters this Christmas.
Public transport supply can also be increased by deploying the transport fleets of national and local governments (government-owned vans, buses and trucks) in areas where public transport is most deficient. During an emergency (such as when commuters are stranded by floods or similar disasters), this is the response that one would expect from the government. Today, instead of a floor or typhoon, our lack of mobility is a man-made emergency. Stranded commuters are just as in need of assistance from government.
In Singapore and Korea, public transport supply gaps are addressed by tapping school buses (once they are done ferrying students) to offer public transport services on high volume routes. In these cities, school bus operators welcome the opportunity to earn additional income. The same could be explored in Philippine cities.
In other countries, city governments have at their disposal fleets of buses (through contracts with private bus operators) that they can deploy flexibly to places or routes that require additional supply. This gives the government the capacity to address special requirements at short notice. Fare revenues enable city governments to sustain these types of services.
For example, if there is a major sports activity or an event that will attract a lot of people to a particular place, the government can use its own fleet of buses to handle the exceptional demand during the event. Government buses could also serve routes to new or emerging population centers, during the period when the level of demand is not yet sufficient to attract private transport operators. (If MMDA or DOTr had its own fleet of, say, 200 buses, it would be able to address some of the difficulties encountered during the initial operation of the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.)
Client-orientation is also needed in the enforcement of transport laws and regulations. Examples abound of cases where the blind application of rules has made life worse for commuters. It is the responsibility of all officials, as guardians of public welfare, to implement rules with the utmost care and sensitivity to the welfare of the riding public. It is not enough to reason that “I’m just implementing the law.”
For example, punishing the erring transport operator by suspending the entire fleet has sometimes the undesirable consequence of depriving commuters of a crucial transport service. In such cases, imposing a meaningful fine, rather than suspending the entire transport fleet, may achieve the same objective without harming commuters in the process.
The approach for dealing with “colorum” transport services should consider the impact on commuters. “Colorum” (unauthorized) transport services came about, in many cases, due to the failure of government to respond to community mobility requirements. As mentioned earlier, a moratorium on granting new franchises has existed for over a decade and continues to this day. This means that many new communities and business centers have never been served by authorized public transport.
Left to find their own solutions, many communities organized their own transport services to escape their isolation. In remote areas, unofficial van, jeepney and motorcycle services serve areas that have been neglected or forgotten by government. They offer an essential service where government has failed in its duty to address local mobility needs.
In cracking down on “colorum” without offering commuters a viable alternative, government exacerbates the already dire situation of many commuters. With colorum services withdrawn, the waiting time for public transport increases significantly. There is more competition and crowding on all modes. There is more traffic congestion as some users of public transport resort to private vehicles to get to their destinations instead of leaving them at home.
We cannot deny that “colorum” services have filled and continue to fill gaps where existing services are not able to adequately serve the local demand. Without the contribution of “colorum” services, the commuter would be worse off. As government and others debate the future of Angkas, we need to ask similar questions about how we can protect and improve the welfare of commuters, which is the paramount objective.
The dramatic improvement in the LTO license issuance and renewal process proves that focusing on the client experience is the key to delivering a good service.
Government should enforce laws, but enforcement needs to be tempered by common sense and consideration for its clients, the riding public. If enforcement of a law will make lives of commuters worse, then something is terribly wrong and our officials need to find a way to fix it.
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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