The first time the notion of putting up a cable-car system in Metro Manila was floated up was in 2016 by former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
At that time, Tugade had pointed out the example of Bolivia’s capital La Paz, which currently has one of the largest – and most successful – cable car system in the world.
However, transport experts and the riding public had only heaped ridicule on the plan, which had initially casted doubts on whether Tugade really had the right mindset to solve Metro Manila’s traffic woes.
Tugade’s remarks have some wags – which had included OpinYon – joking that the Secretary might as well use flying carpets as they urge him to wake up from his dreamland.
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Fortunately, Tugade seemed to have realized the “impossibility” of the plan and had since gone on to spearhead viable and practical long-range projects, including additional railway lines in and around Metro Manila.
But those railway lines won’t be finished in a year or two, and with the metropolis slowly going back to “normal” after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s a pressing need to solve both Manila’s traffic woes and the lack of transportation alternatives.
That was the atmosphere in which Senator Robin Padilla once again floated the idea of cable cars – and once again, transport experts burst out laughing at the idea.
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In a Facebook post, former Transportation Science Society of the Philippines President Rene Santiago noted that while cable cars are a technically viable option for urban commuting, it is only good in “special circumstances” such as short trips, hilly terrain, narrow roads with no expansion possibilities.
Those pointing out the success of La Paz, Bolivia’s “Mi Teleferico” cable car system conveniently ignore the fact that La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, is located on a steep mountain incline that makes conventional rail systems impractical.
The two sectors of La Paz are separated by a canyon, and steep streets and heavy traffic had required a “special” solution to the city’s transport woes – thus, the Mi Teleferico system.
Metro Manila is located on a series of gradually rolling hills and plains between Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay, where roads and rail systems could be quickly and cheaply built.
Santiago is also quick to point out that trains and cable cars are not a panacea, or a “cure-all,” to Metro Manila’s transport woes and that buses, jeepneys and modern PUVs will still be needed to complement these rail systems.
He added that the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization (PUVM) project – which included the Route Rationalization System – is “a right policy, but badly executed.”
As I had mentioned in the past weeks, chopping up the metropolis’ bus and jeepney routes were done without a scientific look into the commuter dynamics of Metro Manila – and many of these routes have become impractical as we began to ease the restrictions brought by the pandemic.
We’ve said it so many times, but we’re willing to say this again: solving our transport mess needs an empirical mindset, as well as concern for our commuters who have suffered from far too long. Whimsical, fantastic projects will not solve this crisis.