Benchmarking of commuter systems

NO HOLDS BARRED
Ike Señeres

MANILA -- Mr. Alberto Cardenas wrote to say that when it comes to commuter systems, it is a matter of benchmarking the systems of other countries where these are good, and then compare these with what we have here in the Philippines . He was reacting to my earlier article about modern transport terminals. He added that where we see tried and tested systems; we should adopt these here in our own country.

As examples, Mr. Cardenas cited the transport systems of other countries such as the United States , Japan , Singapore , Thailand , Cambodia , France and China . In particular, he mentioned the transport systems of Las Vegas , Ft. Lauderdale , Hong Kong and Paris where the rides from the airports could easily connect to the hotels, malls, schools, government buildings, tourist spots and other important destinations. He added that in Thailand and Cambodia , the river transports are connected to the land transports.

Moving on, Cardenas said that even if we have the nautical highways from Batangasto Mindanao and the sea routes that go to the south, the interconnection to the land transports are not efficient, and because of that, good mobility is hampered due to the lack of efficiency. He also said that even if the connections are actually there, the commuters normally do not know how to connect from the ports to their land based rides, suggesting in the process that the government should really improve its efforts to spread this information to the general public.

Touching on a subject that is close to my heart, Cardenas complained that there are no clean comfort rooms along the way and no good places where the commuters could get affordable and clean food for all religions, saying in particular that Moslems are also commuters and yet they have no access to foods that are certified to be compliant with Halal specifications.

The list goes on, according to Cardenas , because our transport systems are also poor in directional signs and safety signs, making it very clear that these are two distinct concerns. In closing he said that our transport systems are very poor in giving out information about the schedules of ships, busses and other land transports.

Out of curiosity, I asked Cardenas if he was familiar with the advocacies of the National Council for Commuter Protection (NCCP), the party list that is now fielding nominees for Congress. NCCP is listed in the ballot as party list number 163. To my surprise, he said that he has not heard of NCCP 163, but he was glad that there is now a party list that is fighting for the rights of commuters along his ways of thinking.

As I shared the suggestions of NCCP 163 to the party list leaders, they immediately approved the idea of establishing a “Commuter Channel” initially in the Internet via the video streaming, but eventually through the local community cable systems. Watch out for this new channel as it will debut in a few weeks.

In line with their commuter related advocacies, NCCP 163 has recently established an online registration system at http://nccp.webs.com where commuters could submit their names and other information. Eventually, the system will also be used for accepting commuter complaints. Please visit this website, and ask others to do the same.

NCCP 163 has also published a primer about the rights of commuters. To get a copy of this primer, you can text 09276330526 or call 331-NCCP (331-6227). If you have complaints about the violations of your commuter rights, you can fax your complaints to 5593381.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) now also receive complaints directly from the commuting public. Just fax your complaints to 426-2519, to the attention of LTFRB Chairman Bert Suansing. NCCP 163 is in effect functioning as the NGO partner of LTFRB.

Congratulations to Mr. Al Cusi who was recently appointed as the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), with the rank of Assistant Secretary. This new agency takes over the functions of the old Air Transportation Office (ATO). According to the NCCP 163 leaders, they are looking forward to working closely with Mr. Cusi as well, because airline passengers are also considered as commuters.

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