Problem: Increased rate of new vehicles on the road

Road congestion or as usual commuters say “traffic” has gotten worse in the country. This is visibly
observed not just in Metro Manila but also in key provincial cities. One of the reasons for this problem is
the increased rate of new vehicles on the road. There are too many vehicles on our roads – especially
private cars – yet the incentives to reduce their purchase and use are absent.

With the rate that new vehicles are being put on the roads, Manila, Cebu, Davao, Baguio, and cities
elsewhere are becoming uninhabitable, as predicted by a foreign observer two years ago,” American
Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines John Forbes reiterated.

The costs of worsening traffic are depressing. A recent study claimed that Filipinos now spend an
average of 16 full days stuck in traffic each year. By 2022 some Southeast Asian cities – including Metro
Manila – also risk experiencing “standstill” levels of traffic during peak hours (that is, average speeds of
less than 10 kph).

Short Range Solution: Modernized Public Transport

A short range solution that the Government, together with the private sector can do is to provide viable,
comfortable, and safe public transport options that people will actually want to patronize.

Trains are the most important mass transit vehicles, and the Duterte administration is indeed aiming to
build new, ambitious train projects (like Metro Manila’s first subway and Mindanao’s first railway).
Though exciting, it will take a long time before these train projects come into fruition.

In the meantime, buses and jeepneys will play a crucial role because, relative to cars, they could
transport the same number of people using so little space.

On EDSA, for example, the MMDA estimated in 2015 that private cars and taxis constituted 88% of
vehicles but transported only 30% of people. In contrast, PUVs constituted 12% of vehicles but
transported 70% of people. Hence, the faster we can tip the scale from cars and taxis to buses and jeeps,
the better.

Here, the government’s push for PUV modernization will be crucial. If we can expedite the installation of
bus rapid transport networks and replace old jeepneys with new, spacious ones, then more people will
be nudged to leave their cars at home and choose to commute instead, helping free up our roads.

Long Range Solution: Correct the existing incentives by reducing the relative benefits of private
vehicles and increasing their relative costs.

Long range solution includes legislation of laws for correct incentives. The Government needs to make
private vehicle ownership so costly that it discourages new purchases and frequent use.
One way is to impose higher taxes on autos and petroleum products. The tax reform bill pending in
Congress aims to do exactly this.

But to effectively solve the traffic mess, perhaps it’s time to implement – once and for all – some form of
“congestion pricing” which charges people a fee for their road use.

Congestion pricing is always a tough sell. This was done in Stockholm, Sweden . In Stockholm, it was
initially met by fierce opposition: a whopping 70% of people disapproved it. But when they saw the
resulting drastic improvement in rush hour traffic, approval ratings for congestion pricing shot up.

Congestion pricing may also appear to be regressive or antipoor. But this need not be the case:
government can come up with offsetting transfers and keep many alternative roads off congestion
pricing. The congestion fees also need not be too high: the drastic 20% decline of congestion in
Stockholm was caused by a peak-hour congestion fee of just 2 euros. In the Philippines, we can have a
law or legislation relative to this.

Despite the challenges, it’s time for our leaders to seriously consider modern, radical, and tested options
like congestion pricing.

Conclusion:

The problem about road congestion is in its core; hence the Government should come up a gopod
incentive, to a right place.

The solution is fairly simple: correct the existing incentives by reducing the relative benefits of private
vehicles and increasing their relative costs.

But these require political courage and focus from the Duterte government, and may require potentially
unpopular policies. These include: higher taxes on automobiles and petroleum; resisting the urge to just
build new roads; fighting for PUV modernization; and seriously considering congestion pricing.

But if only President Duterte focused on our traffic woes half as much as he talks of the war on drugs or
“RevGov,” then – even without emergency powers – we might be that much closer to licking our traffic
problems once and for all.