The start of the school year in Iloilo City was marked by chaos and frustration, not in the classrooms, but on the streets.
Commuters, particularly students and workers, have been forced to endure long waits at terminals, sometimes stretching to two hours, due to the failure of transport cooperatives to submit and adhere to a coherent dispatching plan. The glaring inefficiency highlights a broader issue of poor planning and coordination within the city’s transportation system, raising serious concerns about the implementation of the current traffic rerouting program.
The Traffic and Transportation Management Office (TTMO), led by Retired Col. Uldarico Garbanzos, was right to criticize the transport cooperatives for their laxity. The delays at the Mohon Terminal and other areas of the city are not just an inconvenience; they are a direct result of negligence.
The TTMO had anticipated the surge in passengers with the opening of classes and had engaged in multiple meetings with transport cooperatives to iron out a dispatching plan. Yet, weeks into the school year, passengers continue to suffer the consequences of inaction.
The situation is particularly frustrating because the problem could have been easily avoided. Transport cooperatives from Iloilo City’s neighboring towns, for instance, had no trouble submitting their dispatching plans well before the academic year commenced.
Why then, did city-based cooperatives fail to do the same? The answer points to a lack of seriousness and a failure to recognize the importance of efficient transport operations in a growing urban center.
The result of this oversight is a domino effect that has disrupted the lives of many. Vehicles are either waiting too long to fill to capacity before leaving the terminals or taking too much time on the road, fetching passengers and causing significant delays. This inefficient dispatching method not only causes inconvenience but also affects the city’s overall traffic flow, leading to congestion and frustration among drivers and passengers alike.
The absence of a well-thought-out dispatching plan also suggests a broader issue with the city’s traffic rerouting program. The program, which was designed to streamline traffic flow and enhance public transport efficiency, seems to be faltering due to a lack of proper study and preparation. The chaos we are witnessing at the terminals is likely an offshoot of this inadequacy. The program’s success hinges not only on rerouting but also on the seamless execution of related components, such as the dispatching of public utility vehicles.
Transport cooperatives must be held accountable for their role in this debacle. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has given them the responsibility to provide safe, reliable, and efficient transport services. Their failure to submit a dispatching plan undermines this mandate and puts at risk the well-being of commuters who rely on public transportation.
It is crucial that the city government and the TTMO enforce stricter compliance measures for transport cooperatives. The submission and adherence to dispatching plans should not be treated as optional but as a mandatory requirement that ensures the smooth operation of the city’s transport system. The current situation should serve as a wake-up call, not just to the cooperatives but also to city planners and traffic managers, to reassess and refine the existing traffic rerouting and dispatching strategies.
Commuters deserve better. They deserve a transport system that works efficiently, especially during peak hours when the demand is highest. The responsibility falls on the transport cooperatives to fulfill their commitments and on the city government to ensure that these commitments are met. Only then can we expect a semblance of order to return to the streets of Iloilo City.
