Complaints and discussion about traffic in the City have gone on over successive city administrations. Traffic schemes have been considered or tried, but complaints continue to be heard.
Years ago, to my surprise, I was invited to be part of the City Traffic Council to represent the “women sector”. Perhaps out of curiosity, I did go to meetings which were mostly messy, often about re-routing that no one would agree to, even to pilot test, or about the entry into the City by jeepneys or tricycles from neighboring towns, or about the general disregard for traffic rules. This was clearly not my field, nor a gender issue, so I opted out.
But what I do know about is excellent mass public transit, a great experience whenever I spend a month in Zurich, Switzerland. Many people there choose not to have cars because the buses, trams or trains get them everywhere. Moreover, they save on the cost of a car purchase, registration, insurance, fuel, repairs, garage space rental, etc., not to mention the hassle of driving or of finding parking space.
Here’s how mass public transit works in Zurich: I buy a ticket valid for a month that allows me to travel over the extensive city. From the flat where I stay, it’s a six-minute walk to the bus stop, and every 5 or 10 minutes, Bus 34 (clean, spacious, heated in cold weather) will come along. I get on, sit comfortably the 10 minutes until it arrives at the terminal. Over the bus intercom, the driver says goodbye to the passengers, and wishes us a nice day! When I get off, trams are waiting, and I take No. 15 that heads for the center of town. I do my errands, and then take Tram 8 in the direction of a friend’s house. Eventually, I take the trams and bus in the reverse direction to get back home. At no point do I have to show the ticket tucked in my handbag.
Then there’s the day when I go to the airport to meet a friend arriving from Manila. I take Bus 34, Tram 15, and then the train that goes all the way to the airport.
One beautiful day, I’m playing football with my grandson in the park by the lake. We hear the horn of the ship that cruises the lake, decide we’ve had enough running around (I have!), and walk to the quay to get on the ship. We relax on the boat trip, and get off when the ship docks in another part of the town. We get on Tram 2, get off after eight stops, and walk 10 minutes to where my grandson lives. We didn’t have to show tickets.
Very occasionally, inspectors will board the trams or buses, and ask passengers to present their tickets. Everyone has their tickets, which are not inexpensive, but people understand that excellent public service is worth paying for.
Other features of this system? Public transport runs according to a schedule, and is amazingly on time so that people can count on making the connections they need. Trams, buses, and trains mostly run on electricity so they are quiet and not polluting. Bus and tram lines and stops do not obstruct other motor vehicles nor impede traffic flow. Bus and tram stops are everywhere so generally, people have but a short walk to them. It’s all run by the city.
Of course, it sounds utopian, and can’t even be imagined here. There’ll never be government resources to even come close. But at the same time, more and more people are buying private vehicles (reported as evidence of economic strength), and congesting urban areas. So widen the roads, (never mind the trees to be cut in pursuit of a “development“ goal), and pour on that cement.
But what about also rationalizing, improving, investing in safe, convenient, comfortable, non-polluting, people-friendly public transport, considering transport cooperatives or public-private partnership schemes? Working towards mass public transit has to be part of the thinking for the future.
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Author’s email: h.cecilia7@gmail.com
