Organizing the system for jeepney terminals

January 13, 2019 Sideglance

This is a factual observation: almost all side streets and roads at the Central Business District area have become either staging or loading areas for the various public utility jeepneys (PUJs) in the City of Baguio.

A case in point are and as an example those jeepneys lining up along one side of Kayang Street going all the way up to the police station. That side of the street is always filled with PUJs sometimes waiting to be filled with passengers or simply on standby.

I hope the city can come up with a system of regulating the number of PUVs along the Central Business District Area to reduce vehicle congestion and allow the center of the city to breathe. Since the idea is to better organize the presence of PUVs at the center of the city perhaps one suggestion is to conduct a study and find out whether the circumstances before which allowed these PUVs to occupy so many areas of our city streets either parked on stand-by mode or waiting to be filled up with passengers still exist in the present time. It is also important to note that the real reason for the very long passenger cues during the busy hours of the afternoon has to do not so much on the problem of lack of PUVs but simply because of traffic congestion which impedes the PUVs and lengthens their travel time from their last destination back to their loading area where passengers are waiting.

It is vital that if a study is to be conducted it must be done ASAP so that the necessary data and information can be obtained and evaluated.

If a way can be found that would allow the rapid egress of PUVs from the CBD area and thus allow them a quick return to their loading areas then just possibly the problem of lone passenger cues will be finally solved.

Another matter that must be considered in the study is to determine whether there is a need to regulate the provision for slots given to the jeepney groups for their staging areas, loading and unloading areas. Is it necessary that a PUJ will end up disgorging its passengers at the area where they normally load their passengers? Perhaps recommendations can be made whereby a centralized unloading station can be established in certain areas at the CBD where the PUVs are supposed to unload their passengers and not just anywhere along their route.

Going back to the allocation of slots perhaps the city can also limit the use of these slots to only during the time when they are really needed such as during busy hours especially during the late afternoons. During lull periods when there is not so much passengers waiting to ride them these PUVs should not be allowed to use and occupy their slots since this will just add to the congestion of vehicles at the CBD area.

All of these suggestions can be considered but only if a time and motion study has been made to come up with the appropriate reference and have a better understanding of the Jeepney loading and unloading system at the heart of the city.