Transport Aspects in the Philippines
Page 48
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Passenger carrying is an Organized and Regulated Business ; Goods-carrying Has Still to be Supervised
THERE must be few parts of the world in which one could find a greater concentration of commercial vehicles than in the city of Manila. The transportation terminus for most buses and lorries is around the Ascaraga market and it is here that one is able to gain an impression of the important part which the commercial vehicle plays in the development of the Philippine Islands.
Owing to the fact that organized freight-business is practically unknown, passenger transportation on organized lines is more profitable. Few of the good bus companies fail to pay a regular and handsome dividend. In speaking of dividends it is worthy of note that when, in 1934, fares were reduced from one and a half to one centavo per kilometre, gross receipts increased by approximately 50 per cent.
Large and Small Companies. There are, in the islands, about a dozen companies operating from 150 to 200 buses, each having a capacity averaging 35 passengers. There are dozens of smaller companies which run from six to 20 buses each. These numbers apply to organized businesses only.
Bus travel in the Islands is not done on quite the same elaborate scale as it is here, but applying as it does to different conditions, it is generally efficient. Many things are tolerated which, in this country, would almost land one in gaol! Excursions are unheard of, although there are times when traffic is of great magnitude. " Fiestas" play an important part in the life of the Filipino and the bigger fiestas, such as that of Antipolo, bring buses from every corner of Luzon. People travel in their thousands by every means available to them during the four or five days of this most important fiesta. Buses run night and day and are often carrying people on the return journey for days after the fiesta has ended. Coping with the crowds is really a difficult problem.
All buses are of open type with canvas tops, and rows of seats made of wood and having cane bottoms. The seats are particularly hard and the amount of legroom is quite inadequate for the average white man; the Filipino, it must be remembered, is a particularly short-legged individual.
People of the Islands have a habit of carrying all foodstuffs openly and it is quite surprising what they are allowed to take on to a bus. Dried fish, chickens and the usual fighting cock, which the Filipino likes to take out as one of us might take out a dog, occupy a great deal of the space. When taking a seat it is the usual practice to place a handkerchief upon it first. Pigs, with legs firmly tied, are generally placed under the seats and usually squeal and howl during the whole journey! These little things make for pleasant conversation along the way; a fighting cock and its prowess are nearly always a subject of conversation.
Although the larger bus companies are obliged by the government to run to schedule, a great amount of liberty and privilege is enjoyed by the travelling public. This is not so much on account of competition, but mainly owing to the fact that the Filipino, as a buyer, always demands every possible advantage that his purchase will furnish. An instance of this is in the fact that he will not walk one yard if by the use of the bus he can avoid it. The result is that it is often necessary for a bus to stop again after 10 or 12 yards to allow a person to alight. Buses travelling to Manila from about 50 miles out are obliged to drive all over the city, instead of direct to the bus terminus, merely in order to drop individuals at various places in the city and suburbs.
Feeder Machines.
Light sixand eight-seater jitneys are used as feeders for the main lines and will often wait outside a house for quite a long time, waiting for some passenger to finish breakfast or dressing This habit necessitates speeding, to make up lost time, and they certainly do move quickly on such occasions.
All vehicles must be kept roadworthy and the maintenance and repair of buses belonging to the leading companies are carried out in well-equipped workshops which compare with any found in America and Europe. Records of all repairs, inspections and greasings are kept with infinite care. Tyres are sold mostly on a mileage basis and no firstclass transportation company would ever run any tyre which had the slightest signs of canvas showing through.
Brakes are tested most thoroughly each week, steering pins and arms are inspected every week and each steering gear assembly is stripped and examined with the minutest care every three months.
Workshops are in the charge of European and American engineers and no part, however email, is put back into an engine or chassis without having first been inspected by an engineer. Cleanliness in the workshops is of the utmost importance and mechanics observed working with dirty or greasy tools come in for a great deal of trouble.
Orderly Workshops.
A few minutes before lunch, also before finishing time in the evening, all tools are washed and hung on whiteenamelled walls. The mechanics as a whole are responsible for loss of tools, which is easily detected as any vacant place on the wall indicates a missing tool.
Oil-engined vehicles have been tried out in the Islands in the past few years and their advantage is now apparent, in view of the ever-increasing government taxes on petrol. It would seem that British manufact-urets have paid little attention to this foreign market,
which offers vast possibilities. The roads are gradually being widened and bridges strengthened so that there is now scope for the operation of the heavier types of vehicle.
There are thousands of so-called "wild cat" buses operating. These are privately owned goods vehicles which operate at night and pick up passengers, to the detriment of the legitimate companies. These operators could be easily checked and eliminated with the introduction of organized freight-transportation.
It is worth repeating that the oilengined lorry would seem to have a very bright future in the Philippines, where organized freight-transportation is in its infancy and where passenger services could operate more cheaply and efficiently with the wider use of this type of vehicle.