Archive for the ‘Transportation in the Philippines’ Category

Ayala Corporation recently declared that it has bag first the money allotted for PNoy’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program amounting 2 billion pesos for the project Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Link Road which is considered to be the very first project auctioned by the Aquino administration for its Public-Private Partnership(PPP) program; to be the winning bidder and were so very excited to bag more.

“We are delighted to have submitted a competitive proposal for the first project under the government’s public-private partnership program. This is a good initial foray in the transport infrastructure space and we believe this successful experience working within a public-private partnership framework would be helpful in pursuing future projects under the ppp program”, said by Ayala Corporation president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
They bag the fund last December 22,2011 hand over by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and were also expected to complete all the requirements for the right-of-way within six months upon signing the concession agreement.

However, the Ayala Corporation is not alone on this project but in partnership with a Spanish Engineering company, Getinsa; that will help the Ayala conglomerate in their expertise in infrastructure projects the detailed design of the project is expected to be complete within four months.

The Link Road project is named “Daang Hari” because the road will start at the Daang Hari if one is in Imus cavite and desire to enter the south Luzon expressway near the Susana Heights Interchange and would enter Cavite.

Actually, this road project is a major arterial road that will connect the towns of Imus, Dasmarinas, and Bacoor Cavite to Metro Manila via South Luzon Expressway (SLEx).It is a Cavite bound road or a road that will provide strategic access to Cavite.

This road project handled by the Ayala Corporation under PNoy’s Public-private partnership program is expected to start its construction by February 2012(segment 1) and will end on September 2012(segment 2)

The expected starting toll rate once this project is finally running or open: P17 for class 1 vehicles,P34 for class 2 vehicles and P51 for class 3 vehicles; all the toll rates are valued-added tax(VAT) inclusive or have already value-added tax(VAT) included on each.
This road project is advantageous to Ayala Corporation because through this road, their real estate properties within Cavite can now be easily accessible to their estate owners and clients.

Another road in the Philippines that is mostly the few rich clans in the Philippines has more advantage of.

What causes road related accidents? Actually, there are many factors that trigger the causes. In the Philippines, currently road accidents is the fourth leading cause of death among Filipinos and the Department of Health (DOH) feared that if this problem is not resolved quickly, road accidents could be the top leading cause of death among Filipinos by the year 2020.On 2006 alone there are already 15,000 cases of road related accidents and fatalities meaning almost every day there are 41 cases of road related accidents and deaths.

However, though there are many variety of factors that causes road related accidents and deaths, there is one major leading cause of it. That is, road accidents actually were largely caused by the lack of knowledge and understanding of motorists about traffic signs and road markings on the road as well as lack of personal precautionary measures when on the road.

But not only non-omniscient road motorists themselves contribute to their own respective accidents on the road, but also road ignorant people crossing the roads. However, the ignorance of the people is not actually their own fault but rather the fault of the government to ensure proper education of the people especially the motorists regarding traffic signs and road markings the government have installed, especially the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in the Philippines who are in charge of this public obligation.

For since the Philippines have joined the Vienna Convention and concur to the international standard road signs imposed by the Vienna Convention, only after five years the Philippine government have applied that safety proper road education program it have agreed upon on the convention and however today despite the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) created “hybrid” traffic road signs that has Tagalog translation for those Filipino who can’t understand the English version of the road signs, still road related accidents and fatalities were cause largely by the ignorance and disregard of these traffic signs and road markings. For sometimes, there are so-called traffic signs which are not really traffic signs at all or have not traffic redeeming values but just a mere a personal commercial establishment own road signs to promote one’s business establishment which consequently confuse the motorists and people on the road, thus it resulted into eventual disregard of real traffic signs and road markings by motorists and people crossing the roads.

There are a lot of initiatives by the government and non-government organizations to facilitate the proper and right education of motorists and people to bridge the gap of ignorance but to no avail, still there are road related accidents and fatalities cause by traffic road signs ignorance.

One of the famous road related initiatives of the current government administration is President Benigno Aquino III’s Anti-Wang Wang campaign on roads but yet it is ineffective for there are many motorists who still used wang wang and do counter flows in the traffic especially on Philippine provinces. But this famous traffic control management program is quite non sense because not only motorists who use wang wang just want to get over the volume of traffic one encountered on the road. For mostly, motorists who use wang wang are indeed in great emergency travel that need way to get into the urgent destination.

Riding on the motorcycle is the top vehicle involved on road related accidents met by Pinoys along the road;s econd is riding on the passenger bus wherein sometimes the passenger bus fell on the ravine of the road; and thirdly personal cars being hit on parts of the road during the wee hours of the morning.

Electrifying Pinoy Rides

The fluctuating rate of vehicle oil fuels on the oil market which affects greatly fares on passenger vehicles has prompted some to come-up an alternative idea to fuel their vehicles than just entirely relying on oil fuels being sold on the oil market that only gave them a heavy yoke to carry on their backs. The alternative fuel they have come to thought about is electricity. However, assimilating on this kind of energy to run a vehicle is not quite economical as some inventors of electrified vehicles suggest, because in our modern world, electricity is also under charge and not free. Perhaps, those drivers who have only guts to pay electricity bills have the access to this kind of alternative automotive fueling. It is somewhat also costly because of the amount of watts you transferred to your vehicle batteries. The bigger the watts you consume, the bigger also the bills you will pay, is not it? Moreover, not to mention the watts you use daily for your electric home appliances.

Anyway, aside from electric jeep or e-jeep, Pinoy inventors have come up and invented another passenger vehicle which most Filipinos used to ride daily on their daily commuting and transporting activity aside from passenger jeep, that is, an “e-tricycle” or electric tricycle. However, it is alternatively called “E-trikes”.

E-trikes or electric tricycle debut 20 pieces of it at the streets of  Mandaluyong city this month of April to introduce it to the commuting public with charging stations that only cost P45 per charge that E-trikes drivers don’t have to recharge most of the day compare to oil fuels to an ordinary oil-run vehicles that you have to charge either twice or thrice a day depending on how far you drive a day; for just only one charge of this E-trikes which only cost P45 could make your day (24 hours) and could save your money from recharging.

If this test run could be a hit to a commuting public and could really minimize the Philippine problems regarding oil prices or could save the Philippines a million dollars from expending foreign import oils, the Philippines will deploy 20,000 more E-trikes from Asian Development Bank (ADB) who funded this electric powered tricycles project.

Yes, if this project will really works and it is proven effective on reducing Philippine expenditures and could help the environment from smog emanated by the combustion of oil fuels and could help gain satisfying income for E-trikes drivers as well as gratifying rides from the passengers on the streets; for sure this is the start of economic progress in the Philippines.

Transportation Problem With MRT /LRT?

Transportation is very important because it leads us to where we are plan and desire to go to, but sometimes using our own two feet is not enough to meet our desire to go on this and that place for it will weary our feet and our bodies from walking and running; not considering the time we spent in walking or running just to get to where are intending to head to. Thus, transportation vehicles were invented to help and assist us in our transportation needs.

In our modern times, there are already high –tech and speedy ways to get to where we want to go to without wearying our feet on walking and running and that which could save our precious time and energy; as well as money for hiring someone or hire a public transport vehicles to get to where we are heading to. That is the fastest land transport vehicles we have today so far are Trains. These trains could speed up our transportation needs. However, as our nature is imperfect, so also our inventions. There is still lacking and not perfect.

In the Philippines, trains is the cheapest and speedy way to transport people around the metro manila, and Filipinos called them MRT/LRT or Metro Railway Transit/Light Railway Transit; just like on other countries.

Though Metro Rail Transit(MRT)/Light Rail Transit(LRT) is truly a very good and speedy transportation within Metro Manila that could save your time and money compare to taxis and bus that cost you great time due to traffics and big fares; there is still problems riding with it, That is the ticketing system and the overcrowding. Most MRT/LRT commuters complained about these two issues, which could delay their needed time to go on such place on their scheduled time. Thus, it shows that there is no big difference between riding a bus with riding MRT.

So what is the problem anyway why there are problems like these? Most MRT commuters notice that there are less ticket outlets and tickets were just sold right on the spot of the ticketing areas without some other means to get tickets before going to MRT stations.

And in terms of overcrowding within the trains, this is probably due not only MRT tickets are cheap, somewhere 15 pesos per ride thus people took advantage of this cheap yet speedy air conditioned ride; but it could also be the size of the trains and the number of trains available for riding. For some MRT commuters complains that the trains are always fully loaded which gave some people perception of fear of train crashing or a susceptible vulnerability to be attack by terrorists, for terrorists loves to attack mostly crowded people.

Philippine Jeep

Is jeepney an original Philippine national vehicle? Maybe, for some Pilipinos who does not know of the origin of jeeps or jeepneys in the Philippines.

Actually, the jeepneys we see now on the busy streets and highways of the Philippine are just a modern Filipinized (or Philippine touch) version of the old American jeep that has been imported into the Philippines during World War II which was used by the American soldiers to transport them and to fight the Japanese occupation in the Philippines at that time.

The modern day Philippine jeepney is just a derivative one. However, it has evolved into Philippines national vehicle or means of transportation because it is the vehicle in the Philippines mostly ride on when travelling a few kilometers away apart from a bus.

The Philippine jeepneys have many customizable looks and get ups, from a simple deviation from the original American into an excessively accessorized and customize version. And now the latest input to the evolution of Philippine jeepney is the jeepney they called “e-jeep” or electronic jeep.

Electronic jeep or e- jeep as what the inventor call it is run of course by electricity and not by gasoline or diesel which the Philippine passenger jeepneys are fueled of. Thus, the inventor tags his own jeep as an eco-friendly jeep that doesn’t emit harmful gaseous material from its engine.

Unfortunately, though this is a very good evolution of the Philippines jeep, it is only primarily used for tourist tours, and an especial event like the inaugural of the new vice-president of the Philippines wherein he ride on it.