Colegio de San Juan de Letran

Intramuros, Manila
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Political Science and Legal Management Area

METRO MANILA AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT: A STUDY OF ITS ECONOMIC

IMPACT TOWARDS COMMUTERS

A Research Paper

By
AQUINO, MARIA ELENA S.

Submitted To

Mr. Sherman Louis Gabito

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

December 7, 2019
1st Semester, AY 2019-2020

Abstract
 Public transportation provides commuters with a convenient way to reach their

designated places faster and cheaper compared with private vehicles. However, this is not

always scenario that always happened for Metro Manila because majority of Filipinos have a

negative perception of using public transportation. The paper will try to discusses and will

give an overview about researchers' study about the economic impact of public transportation

to commuters.

Introduction

Philippines Economy nowadays is surely unstable, and is surely very unequal society;

Poverty, inequality and include the inflation rate have been one of the major challenges and

struggles in the Philippines settings and have come to struggle and is experiencing global

financial crisis and rising food, fuel, and commodity prices. As public transportation and

major traffic has gone through for years, it is now one of the major scenarios faced by people,

commuters and drivers everyday.

Public transportation, this are goods that is being paid but in a cheaper price, public

transportation ; like Light Rail Transportation (LRT) can be very beneficial to students who

doesn’t have car, a working student or lives far from the school. Because not only it saves

money but allows you to get to school or anywhere you desire in no time. Aside from that

people who works and doesn’t own any cars also used public transportation as their way to go

to their designated working place. Public transportation is somehow better than private cars

because not only can save people a significant amount of money each month in avoided of

oil/gas, monthly maintenance, parking if there is no public parking, and other expenses. It

saves them time and avoids the struggle of spending hours on the road because of traffic.

Taking public transportation can also free up a significant amount of time and attention, as

the driver is doing the work for people, which allows students, workers and other commuters
to spend their time reading, working, studying, or being entertained instead of having to look

out for the road and looks for their stop.

However, public transportation also faces issues. Because public transportation is

cheap and is accessible for anyone, the struggle and inconvenience everyday of people who

use public transportation can be seen clearly starting from having to experience tight spaces,

crowded and very rowdy people inside the train. Aside from that is the struggle to have

privacy, because there is no privacy in public transportation. Commuters are crowded in and

don't have much personal space. There is nothing to prevent the person sitting next to you

from reading document or private conversations through social media, listening in phone

conversations or looking at the contents of your bags. And worse, this also means that you

have no protection, control from what others choose to do in that public space.

Review of Related Literature

This chapter supplies a brief discussion of different literatures and studies related to the

impact of public transportation to commuters. The discussed literatures and studies are

considered as contributors in helping the researchers accomplish a comparative analysis

based on facts, ideas and past researches.

Transportation is an integral part of modern life. According to Kumari et al. (2010)

and Rehrl et al. (2007), a good transportation network is one of every modernized city’s

initial priorities because today’s modern society needs mobility in every aspect of life. Every

day, people need to go to work, children need to go to school, and products need to reach the

other end of the supply chain. However, because of the continuous population growth in the

world, transportation networks are unceasingly being congested. According to Kenyon et al.

(2003), many governments worldwide have been pushing for the solution to solve this

problem and reduce the number of vehicles clogging up road networks, i.e., by enticing
citizens to shift away from mainly using private transportation modes to using Public

transportation vehicles.

This research first aims to share the researchers’ findings and analysis regarding the

travel behavior of Metro Manila commuters and describe the status of its public

transportation sector, The survey will not only helped the researchers understand better the

needs and wants of Metro Manila commuters with respect to a route planning system, it also

provided an updated study of the current situation of Metro Manila’s public transportation

system and its Commuters.

According to Heinrich et al. (2009) there are five specific factors in the sequences that

cause problems on the road including traffic and hazards happening on daily basis on the road

that may affect the commuters and drivers at the same time. Factor 1 is the social

environment; this factor assumes that negative traits such as stubbornness and recklessness

behave in such unsafe manner on the road. Factor 2 is the fault of a person; where in people

recklessness leads to an unexpected damage or injury which may cause more damage on the

road. Factor 3 is the mechanical and physical hazard; this factor is one of the common

scenarios happening in the Philippines. Unsafe acts by drivers, removing safe guards,

handles, other heavy materials that makes the car overload and is hard to drive, driving

without warning or not using signal light. Another factor is an accident, after not following

safety measures, accident may happen and injury may follow.

Inappropriate activities carried out by people can be also because of human error.

Example is one of the factors given, people misjudged the risk and still choose not to follow

the rules by not following the lane and not signaling when necessary, which eventually

creates more delay and traffic on the road. Inappropriate response commonly happened In the
Philippines, when people disregards the safety procedure, sees a hazard but still push through,

removes safety masses not minding the overload that drivers are carrying.

According to Dh illon et. al (2003) there are ways to find out hazards and how to

fixed operating problems, this can be used as a tool to highlight unseen hazards and provide

necessary actions. He also said that establishing the objectives is a step concerned with

developing objects and scope by considering relevant factors and using it in forming such

actions to such matter. He also said that collecting relevant information could also help in

enhancing the needed equipments in transportation. This is a step concerned with obtaining

how to possibly enhance the quality of the road, and public vehicles, to ensure that traffic and

common scenarios will somehow lessen if applied.

According to hammer et. Al (2001) conducting analysis and analyzing major items in

a vehicle is also important to ensure the quality and safety of passengers and people around

the surroundings. It’s important to check and determine the incompatibilities of equipments

to a vehicle, it’s also important to monitor the assembled parts before going to flaunt on the

road to avoid such accidents that will endanger the people around the area.

Over the years in the Philippine State, there have been various accidents involving

Public Transportation, and it somehow involve the commuters because this has become an

essential need for them to go to work, school or somewhere they are designated to go to. One

of the common accident happening is the mechanical failures; it endangered the safety of

passengers and the drivers.

Hypothesized Model

Expected
Activity Rationale/Reason Actual activity Budget
Output
 MINIMIZE THE The time spends The idea of Expected None

NUMBER OF to endure traffic Inspection is output- expected

BUSES; to improve the could have been disposing so output would be

accessibility of roads, used to do other that the traffic that the member

transportation, and productive would somehow of the

implementation of a things instead. | lessen like to government and

commuter-centric further inspect it MMDA will

mindset, our group to certain LGUs take action aside

suggested a general and through from guiding

inspection of buses and that, we can take them which way

its terminals because the necessary to go, and being

many of which are precautions and strict about the

unhygienic and steps on how to rules in driving.

disorganized, and also if further clean

proven that the vehicle buses and

has been running for organizations

more than 10 years it'll

be requested to be

disposed.

GIVING PRIORITY Rationale: Our Traffic signals That the None

TO PUBLIC rationale are an excellent implementation

TRANSPORT AT focuses on way to improve of this matter

TRAFFIC SIGNALS improving the the operating will really

Giving priority to road and efficiency by matter, We

public buses and trams prioritizing the increasing the expected that the
 at traffic signals is an public travel time of MMDA, the

excellent way to transportation these means of LGU and the

improve the operating because we are public transport. government will

efficiency all aware that This could be take their part in

majority of the done by trying to control

people utilized deploying traffic not only the

public engineering traffic signs but

transportation mechanism also the

compare to whereby a commuters to

private vehicles traffic signal make

turns green at adjustments and

the sight of a follow such

public transport rules for the

at an better work of

intersection the road.

LESSEN TRAFFIC to provide and Implementing a reducing traffic

CONGESTION BY enhance the number of congestion is by

NUMBER OF both commuters as providing and data from

PRAGMATIC and drivers of lanes dedicated public transport

MEASURES Reducing public specially for the systems freely to

traffic congestion at city transportation use of public commuters to

streets transport, educate and help

deploying strict them avoid areas

regulations such of traffic

as parking and congestion and,

turn restrictions, hence, improve

innovative ideas through making

such as queue users more

bypasses or informed

queue jumps.

3.0 Methods

3.1 Research Design

Phenomenological Method describing how any one participant experiences a specific event is the

goal of the phenomenological method of research. This method utilizes interviews, observation and

surveys to gather information from subjects. Phenomenology is highly concerned with how

participants feel about things during an event or activity.

3.2 Instrumentation

The research domain, Impact of Public Transportation to commuters has variables in the

questionnaires in this study. Namely, traffic congestion, wellness of Public Transportation,

and impact of public transportation to them. The researchers gathered the data, and interpret

the transcript interview by the researchers.

3.3 Study site and subjects

The researchers chose a student in manila, for the reason that the respondent is possibly

travelling an hour or two on its first class. The interview focuses on the phenomenal

experience of the student on its daily basis by travelling from home to school, researchers are

ought to know the possible impacts of public transportation to commuters.

3.4 Data Gathering Procedures and Ethical Consideration

commuters that was able to response to the researchers request to perform an interview. The

survey considers qualified respondents for the sufficient results as the paper interview is

finally conducted. The sample interview questionnaires informatively contain the

respondent’s assurance to consider the present status of public transportation and its impact to

commuters. The researchers cohered the collected data from the respondents.