Commuter protection

NO HOLDS BARRED
Ike Señeres

The National Council for Commuter Protection has joined the party lists running for Congress as sectoral representatives. Listed in the ballot as party list candidate number 163, it aims to get the support of air, sea and land commuters, which is practically 100% of the population! The list of transports that commuters use everyday ranges from the lowly horse drawn carriage to the modern jumbo jets, but the list actually includes tricycles, jeeps, busses, taxis and even the “padyak” and the “habal-habal”.

NCCP 163 is new to the elections, but is not new to the public view. Its dynamic founder, Ms. Elvie Medina is now recognized as the public face that is always in the forefront of leading the opposition of commuters against fare hikes. If only all the commuters will know that NCCP 163 is the party that successfully led the rollback of the minimum fare to 7 pesos, it will surely get the vote of the riding public.

There is more to commuter protection than just fare hikes however. On top of the NCCP 163 advocacy is commuter safety and commuter convenience, two issues that may not always be hot, but are nevertheless important for everyone who rides any form of transport from anywhere to everywhere. Add to that the advocacy transport availability, and they will also get the support of passengers who are always fuming about not being able to get a ride when it is time for them to move.

As I see it, the bottom line in the NCCP 163 advocacy is mobility, a basic service that was recognized as one of the 11 basic needs during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Nowadays, connectivity seems to be the buzz of the times, but what good is it if people are able to call and text each other but could not see each other because they could not move from there to here? Anyway, mobility and connectivity should blend together perfectly.

It is already generally recognized that livelihood is the most basic of all human needs, followed perhaps by health and by education. Comparing the three, it would be fair to say that people could gain access to health and education services if they have a means of livelihood.

They could actually buy all the other basic needs if they have livelihood, but how could they go about their livelihood if they do not have mobility? How could they go to a hospital or to a school if they do not have mobility? Of course, mobility is easy for those who are rich enough to buy their own cars, but even the rich have to ride boats and airplanes too!

Many in the middle class would wish that they could have the capital to put up a business so that they could earn more money. That is not even the problem of the lower class, because their problem is where to get the fare money that they would need to go to work. Yes my dear readers, their fare money is in effect their capital to earn a day’s wages, and that is how important the battle to freeze the fare hike was a battle that was won by NCCP 163 led by Ms. Medina.

Public safety is one thing; commuter safety is yet another thing. Even if people could afford to take a taxi for instance, they would hesitate to ride one if they fear that it is not safe to do so. Needless to say, even bus riders also fear for their lives when they get into a bus driven by maniacal characters. This is the reason why NCCP 163 is also advocating for the special licensing of bus drivers with certification exams to boot.

The rich people have their own convenience as they ride their own private vehicles, but NCCP 163 believes that the rest of the people have a right to have convenience too as they take public transports. Many of their advocacies are yet unheard of, but are actually doable. For instance, they want to have comfort rooms at the back of all busses, both for city and provincial runs. They are also advocating the use of “kneeling” busses for senior citizens, and why not?

In the advocacy of NCCP 163, they treat all drivers as their allies, and not as their adversaries. In pursuit of this goal, Ms. Medina convinced the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to require transport operators to give SSS and Philhealth memberships to their drivers, and this is already being done now. As we witness the emergence of party lists with questionable profiles as genuine sectoral representatives, it is hard to question the legitimacy of NCCP 163 as it is led by real commuters.

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