MANILA, Philippines — The problems that plagued the country’s land transport sector 20 years ago have not been resolved up to now. Hence, the government must implement its P19.2 billion modernization program for Metro Manila immediately, or let bus and jeepney operators hike fares by 36 centavos, according to operators.

Modernizing around 30,000 jeepneys in the metropolis will cost some P1.2 billion while the modernization of its 5,000 buses will cost about P18 billion.

“But the private sector can do this in one to two years, mostly at no cost to the government,” stressed 1-United Transport Koalisyon Party List (1-UTAK) Chairman Vigor Mendoza II.

“The funds are already there.” In the past two decades, the government failed to address the presence of too many transport providers, too many units, illegal operators or “colorum,” unreliable service, low profitability for operators, poor vehicle quality and poor safety performance as well as heavy traffic congestion and pollution.

“The government hasn’t learned,” he complained.

“All the government interventions had been palliative. And now, they are doing it all over again. The same problem identified 20 years ago are the same problems we are encountering now.”

Already, Metro-Manila buses are studying how to adopt electronic monitoring systems like global positioning, satellite (GPS) technologies and electronic vehicle identification equipment similar to those used in Hong Kong, Korea and other developed Asian countries to modernize the transport sector.

At present, the buses are testing the electronic monitoring systems to avoid over speeding and accidents.

“We are also studying the use of automated fare collection systems similar to the octopus card in Hongkong and a bus management system being used in Korea,” Mendoza pointed out.

Furthermore, the transport sector is willing to switch to clean energy, such as CNG, LPG, ethanol and electricity. However, “We are waiting for the cue of the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) on this matter. We don’t want to shift to LPG only to see the price of auto LPG shoot up later.”

Transport leaders are also pushing for electronic tagging in lieu of roof tagging “ painting jeepneys’ plate numbers on the roof, which has more practical uses for the same cost. With electronic tagging, “colorum” and out of line vehicles can be easily identified and apprehended. It can also be used for dispatching systems to control the number of jeepneys running on the road, reducing traffic.

Yet, if the government doesn’t act, the operators have no choice but to pass on the cost of modernization to the masses who ride the buses and jeepneys daily.

“The government should put their money where their mouth is. They have to address the “colorum” and out-of-line vehicle issues by electronic tagging. The only other option is for us to increase fares by 36 centavos per trip,” Mendoza concluded.