Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

A Study on the Potential for Rationalizating Road Public Services with Respect to a Rail Transit Line Extension

Maria Celline BELIZARIO a, Gio Carlo DELA PAZ b, Jose Regin REGIDOR c

a, b, c Institute of Civil Engineering, University of the , Diliman, , Philippines a E-mail: [email protected] b E-mail: [email protected] c E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: This study aims to assess the prospects for rationalizing road services along the section of a rail transit line extension, which is currently under construction. Once operational, there will be a more direct competition between it and the current road public transport services along the study area such as jeepneys and UV Express vehicles. Data on the and UV Express drivers’ perspective about the construction of the Line 2 Extension, the process of route modification, and preferences about route rationalization were collected through interview surveys, and times of competing modes are estimated. These are analyzed to determine possible route modifications to optimize transport services with respect to the transit line from the drivers’ perspective. The process of route modification as regulated by the government is also discussed. Recommendations are made for modified routes based on the outcomes of the surveys and analysis.

Keywords: Transport, LRT, Rationalizing, Travel Time, Route Modification

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The LRT Line 2, also known as Transit System Line 2, LRT-2, or Megatren, is a 13.8 km heavy rail that passes through four cities in . These cities are identified as , , Quezon, San Juan, and Manila. It covers 11 stations from Santolan to Recto and transverses major roads such as Aurora , Ramon , Legarda and , and Marcos Highway. Last 2012, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved the proposed four-kilometer eastward extension from Santolan, Pasig to Masinag, . There will be two additional stations to be constructed, the Emerald Station in , near Emerald Avenue and the Masinag Station near the Masinag junction of Antipolo. The groundbreaking ceremony was held last June 2015 with the extension expected to be fully operational by the latter half of 2017. The LRT Line 2 Extension will run along Marcos Highway, a part of the Radial Road 6, and a major road passing connecting Metro Manila and Rizal province. Figure 1 shows a photo of the Line 2 extension under construction.

1383 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Figure 1. Ongoing Construction of the LRT Line 2 Extension

It is expected that the presence of the LRT Line 2 extension will have an effect on the current road public transport services, which includes jeepneys and UV Express, passing along the highway. Evidence of trip cutting behavior along the highway has already been observed (Andres and Fernandez, 2015). Trip cutting behavior can be anticipated to increase once the LRT Line 2 Extension is operational.

1.2 Objectives

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the current transport conditions along the LRT Line 2 Extension. The study focused on the perspective of the drivers of jeepneys and UV Express whose routes and franchises may need to be rationalized with respect to the Line 2 Extension. Subsequent objectives of the study are to determine the public transport drivers’ awareness on the process of route modification of public transport franchises, to identify the factors taken to account by jeepney and UV Express drivers when it comes to rationalizing public transport services, and to formulate recommendations for modifying public transport routes in the study area.

1.3 Significance of the Study

This study will provide the criteria on the potential for route rationalization that will benefit traffic conditions along the LRT Line 2 Extension as well as other road public transport services along the study area. Having criteria will help the problem of over-crowding of public utility vehicles in their respective franchise terminals. The rationalized routes will help the congestion of roads along the study area as it will avoid sending too many franchises in the same route. The consideration of optimum round trips with respect to the average travel speed of a public utility vehicle will benefit the drivers of the franchises to access maximum profit potential.

1384 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

1.4 Scope and Limitations

This study aims to analyze the current transport conditions along the LRT Line 2 Extension. Since the construction of the project is still ongoing, current transport conditions will not be an accurate representation of the transport conditions when the train is actually operational. Furthermore, other road public transport franchises such as taxis, Uber, Grabtaxi, are not included in the study. Only jeepneys and UV Express are taken into consideration. Furthermore, the study focused only on the jeepneys and UV Express franchise routes that pass through the roads traversed by the LRT Line 2 Extension from Santolan Station to Emerald Station and Masinag Station. This includes Marcos Highway, Gil Fernando Avenue, Felix Avenue, and J.P. Rizal Street.

Figure 2. Map of LRT Line 2 Extension

Also, given that this study requires the recording and analyzing of the travel time data for each route, it should be noted that the travel time recorded was strictly within the peak hours of the day where the most people use the public utility vehicles.

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There has been evidence of trip-cutting behavior by jeepney and UV Express drivers traversing along Marcos Highway. This is mostly done so that the drivers can maximize profit by having shorter trips and, at the same time, having passengers at full capacity. It was noted that the penalties of trip cutting violations along the study area is not strictly implemented which encourages the public transport drivers to continue cutting trips. (Andres and Fernandez, 2015). Previous ‘willingness-to-pay’ surveys conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency study team (JICA, 2011) showed that passengers will be willing to use the LRT Line 2 Extension. This supports the assumption that there will be competition between the LRT Line 2 Extension and the current Jeepney and UV Express transportation services passing along Marcos Highway. It was also found that (SMDI, 1985) operations and the behavior of jeepney drivers are determined, to a considerable extent, by financial factors. Understanding road public services’

1385 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

financial operations may offer essential information to the evaluation and improvement of public transportation schemes and strategies. The number of operating hours and the assigned route length of jeepneys were determined to be related to the maximum profitability of jeepneys (Labastilla, 1999). These are used to establish the appropriate parameters to allow profitable operations for jeepneys. The study that showed the evidence of trip cutting reiterates the significance of this study. Having an officially rationalized route that is engineered to give them optimum profit will save them the need to cut their trips, which is done illegally. The ‘willingness-to-pay’ survey showed the passengers’ perspective towards the upcoming operations of the LRT Line 2 Extension, allowing the drivers of jeepneys and UV Express interviewed for this study to be aware that there will surely be direct competition once the extension is fully operational. The study of Systems and Management Dynamics, Inc. about the financial aspects of jeepney operations in Metro Manila became the basis on why this study focused on the optimum profit for the jeepney and UV Express drivers as a parameter for rationalization. Labastilla’s study was used as a reference for the relations of the different parameters considered for rationalization such as route length, operating hours, round trips, capacity, and profitability.

3. DATA COLLECTION

3.1 Secondary Data

A letter was sent to the head of the Information Systems Management Division of the LTFRB requesting for the number of registered jeepney and UV Express operators. Staff of the Information Systems Management Division provided the data. The data includes the official process for route modification, the current jeepney and UV Express franchises passing through the study area, and the official number of registered jeepney and UV Express units per franchise. The results are found in Table 1 and Table 2.

3.2 Travel Time Estimation

The travel time recording was done by riding the jeepney and UV Express for each franchise at least once during the peak hours of the day. This was between 6:00 to 9:00 AM and 5:00 to 8:00 PM, which coincided with the peak morning and afternoon/evening periods. A data sheet was prepared to take into account the stops made by the public transport service. The distance between places traveled was also noted in the data sheet. The data was used to compute for the average speed of the jeepney and UV Express in each route.

3.3 Interview Surveys

The perspective of the drivers is one of the central points of this study. A questionnaire was developed as a tool to record their knowledge and preferences when it comes to the route modification topic. The interview surveys were conducted outside the terminals of the LRT Santolan and Cubao stations during non-peak hours of the day where there were garage terminals for the jeepneys and UV Express. This was conducted on November 10, 11, and 14 of 2016. The surveyors distributed the questionnaires among the drivers and collected them afterwards. The survey would gather the drivers’ knowledge regarding the route modification process set by the LTFRB, the drivers’ perspective on the possible route modification with

1386 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

respect to the LRT Line 2 Extension, the drivers’ preferred modified route with respect to the LRT Line 2 Extension, the average number of trips one can make in an entire day, and the drivers’ average profit per day.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Route Identification

The jeepney routes taken into account for this study are Cogeo-Cubao, Padilla-Cubao, Antipolo Cubao(via Sumulong), Taytay-Cubao, Cainta-Cubao, Angono-Cubao, Antipolo- Cubao(via Junction), LRT Santolan-Angono, LRT Santolan-Antipolo, and Montalban-Cubao. The current routes are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Current Jeepney Routes Along the Study Area

The UV Express routes taken into account for this study are Cogeo-Cubao, Padilla- Cubao, Antipolo-Cubao(via Sumulong), Taytay-Cubao, Cainta-Cubao, Angono-Cubao, Antipolo-Cubao(via Junction), and Montalban-Cubao.

4.2 Number of Units per Franchise

The LTFRB provided this study with the data of the registered or legal number of units per route for jeepneys and UV Express for the East Manila Area. These are shown in the Table 1 and Table 2 respectively.

Table 1. Number of Registered Jeepney Units Route Units Cogeo-Cubao 354 Padilla-Cubao 176 Antipolo-Cubao (via Sumulong) 163 Taytay – Cubao 280 Cainta – Cubao 74 Antipolo – Cubao(via Junction) 168 Angono-Cubao 83 Montalban - Cubao 228

1387 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Table 2. Number of Registered UV Express Units Route Units Cogeo-Cubao 72 Padilla-Cubao 52 Antipolo-Cubao(via Sumulong) 19 Antipolo-Cubao(via Junction) 5 Montalban-Cubao 14 Cainta – Cubao n/a Taytay-Cubao n/a LRT Santolan-Angono n/a LRT Santolan - Antipolo n/a Angono-Cubao n/a

4.3 Route Modification Process

Drivers are required to complete these requirements to be able to be in consideration for route modification: Application Form, Requirement Form, Statement of Financial Capability Form, and Processing Schedule Forms. Once completed, the drivers will proceed to pay the necessary fees (Filing fee, Franchise Verification fee, and Legal Research fee) and receive an official receipt. This process usually takes two weeks, not counting the time to accomplish the required documents. These forms are available to download at the LTFRB website (www.ltfrb.gov.ph).

4.4 Travel Time Estimates

Using the data gathered from the three surveyors within three survey days and the distance between stops, we can solve for the travel time for each stop and for the average speed for jeepneys, UV Express, and LRT. Tables below show the average speed computed from the recorded travel time and the distance from each terminal.

Table 3. Jeepney Average Speed Route Average Speed (kph) Cubao – Anonas 7.3 Anonas – 9.2 Katipunan – LRT Santolan 39.0 LRT Santolan – Sta. Lucia 37.1 Sta. Lucia – SM Masinag 31.3 Sta. Lucia – Junction 12.3

Junction – Sta. Lucia 23.0 SM Masinag – Sta. Lucia 33.8 Sta. Lucia – LRT Santolan 24.8 LRT Santolan – Katipunan 19.5 Katipunan – Anonas 6.1 Anonas – Cubao 6.6

1388 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Table 4. UV Express Average Speed Route Average Speed (kph) Cubao – Anonas 8.5 Anonas – Katipunan 7.9 Katipunan – LRT Santolan 50.9 LRT Santolan – Sta. Lucia 40.0 Sta. Lucia – SM Masinag 40.4 Sta. Lucia – Junction 15.9

Junction – Sta. Lucia 21.7 SM Masinag – Sta. Lucia 44.4 Sta. Lucia – LRT Santolan 31.3 LRT Santolan – Katipunan 19.8 Katipunan – Anonas 5.9 Anonas – Cubao 5.7

Table 5. LRT Average Speed Route Average Speed (kph) Cubao – Anonas 27.6 Anonas – Katipunan 26.9 Katipunan – LRT Santolan 42.9 LRT Santolan – Emerald 40.0 Emerald – SM Masinag 40.0

SM Masinag – Emerald 40.0 Emerald – LRT Santolan 40.0 LRT Santolan – Katipunan 40.7 Katipunan – Anonas 30.5 Anonas – Cubao 40.0

The average speed from Santolan station to Emerald and SM Masinag station and vice versa is assumed to be 40 kph based on the speed between LRT Santolan and Katipunan Stations.

4.5 Survey Responses

The total number of survey participants is 85, 71% of which were jeepney drivers while the other 29% were UV Express drivers. Figures 5 and 6 below show the route distribution between the survey participants for both jeepney and UV Express operators. Antipolo – Cubao (via Sumulong) has the highest number of participating drivers for jeepneys with 10 recorded responses. On the other hand, Cogeo – Cubao has the highest number of participating drivers for UV Express with 7 recorded responses.

1389 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Taytay – Cubao (8) Angono – Cubao (4) Antipolo – Cubao 13% 7% (via Junction) (5) 8%

Padilla – Cubao (8) 13% Antipolo – Cubao (via Sumulong) (10) 17%

Montalban – Cubao (7) Cogeo – 12% Cubao (12) 20% Cainta – Cubao (6) 10%

Figure 5. Jeepney Route Distribution

Taytay – Cubao (1) 4%

Padilla – Angono – Cubao (4) Montalban – Cubao (1) Cubao (3) Antipolo – Cubao (via 16% 4% 12% Junction) (1) 4% LRT Santolan - Antipolo (1) 4% Antipolo – Cubao (via Sumulong) (3) LRT Santolan - 12% Angono (1) Cogeo – Cubao (7) 4% 28% Cainta – Cubao (3) 12%

Figure 6. UV Express Route Distribution

The profit distribution of the jeepney and UV Express operators are shown on Figures 7 and 8 below. The jeepney drivers’ profits are distributed equally, on the other hand, 17 UV Express drivers are mostly profiting Php 1,000 (about US$ 40) and above.

25 20 15 10 5 Numberof units 0 Php 400 - 700 Php 700 - 1000 Php 1000 and above Profit Range

Figure 7. Jeepney Drivers’ Profit per Day

1390 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

20

15

10

5 Numberof units 0 Php 400 - 700 Php 700 - 1000 Php 1000 and above Profit Range

Figure 8. UV Express Drivers’ Profit per Day

Out of 85 respondents, 59 think that the operation of the LRT Line-2 extension will not cause any negative effect on their profit. Seventy-four of the respondents also think that any negative effect on their profit will not influence them to request for a change in their current respective routes. Figures 9 and 10 shows the driver’s perspective on whether the operations of the LRT Line 2 Extension will affect their average daily profit.

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 No, because there No, because there Yes, because the Yes, because the Not yet sure would be less would be less demand for LRT is faster competition traffic and more jeepneys will Numberof Jeepney Drivers round trips per day decrease

Drivers' Responses Figure 9. Jeepney Drivers’ Responses on Profit Decrease

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 No, because there No, because there Yes, because the Yes, because the Not yet sure would be less would be less demand for LRT is faster competition traffic and more jeepneys will

Numberof UV Express Drivers round trips per day decrease Drivers' Responses

Figure 10. UV Express Drivers’ Response on Profit Decrease

1391 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Meanwhile, 74 out of the 85 respondents think that they still wouldn’t change their current routes even if they were expecting to have a profit decrease. The numbers supporting this are shown in Figure 11 below.

4%

9% Yes (8) No (74) No Response (3) 87%

Figure 11. Influence of a Profit Decrease on Changing Routes

Of the 85 respondents, 63 are completely uninformed or unaware of the official route modification process set by the LTFRB as shown in Figure 12 below. Eighteen of them are slightly knowledgeable and only four are completely aware of the official route modification process.

I am completely familiar (4) 5% I know a little (18) 21%

I have no idea (63) 74%

Figure 12. Drivers’ Knowledge on Route Modification Process

When asked if they would be open to changing their original routes, only five of the 85 respondents answered yes. Forty-four of the respondents answered no while the other thirty- eight declined to respond as shown in Figure 13 below.

1392 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

40 35 30 25 20 15 10

Numberof Drivers 5 0 I won't change I won't change I won't change I will change routes I am still undecided routes anymore routes because of routes because of because of the the long application the uncertainties in profit increase process profit Drivers' Responses

Figure 13. Driver Preference on Changing Routes

Table 6 shows the drivers’ choice of new route should they decide to undergo the route modification process due to the operation of the LRT Line 2 Extension. It should be noted that even when the drivers declined to change their routes, they were still allowed to choose an alternative route should the choice present itself.

Table 6. Drivers’ Choice for New Route New Route Drivers SM Masinag – Antipolo(via Sumulong) 8 SM Masinag – Padilla 2 SM Masinag – Cubao 11 SM Masinag – Cogeo 2 Marikina – Paenaan 2 Marikina – Cubao 2 Emerald(Sta. Lucia) – Taytay 5 Emerald(Sta. Lucia) – Cainta 1 Emerald(Sta. Lucia) – Angono 7 Emerald(Sta. Lucia) - Montalban 3

5. ANALYSIS

Using the travel time data, the current traffic condition along Marcos Highway can be determined. The travel time between the LRT and Jeepney/UV Express will then be compared as shown in Table 7 below.

Table 7. Travel Time Comparison Average Travel Time (hrs) Route Jeepney UV Express LRT Cubao - Anonas 0:13:25 0:11:07 0:03:16 Anonas - Katipunan 0:06:23 0:09:14 0:02:07 Katipunan - LRT Santolan 0:03:26 0:02:32 0:02:48 LRT Santolan - Emerald 0:04:29 0:04:06 0:02:42

1393 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Emerald - SM Masinag 0:06:48 0:05:36 0:03:09 TOTAL 0:34:31 0:32:34 0:14:02

SM Masinag - Emerald 0:05:17 0:03:59 0:03:09 Emerald - LRT Santolan 0:07:48 0:07:07 0:02:42 LRT Santolan - Katipunan 0:10:10 0:06:36 0:02:57 Katipunan - Anonas 0:13:25 0:10:03 0:01:52 Anonas - Cubao 0:18:07 0:16:51 0:02:15 TOTAL 0:54:47 0:44:36 0:12:55

As expected, the travel time of the LRT is significantly less when compared to that of the jeepney and UV Express travel times. Because of this, it can be concluded that there is a big possibility that more people will choose to ride the LRT over the two other road public transport services. Jeepneys and UV Express may need to be rationalized to complement the demand created by the LRT. Thus, jeepney and UV Express routes terminating at the LRT Stations are preferred. First, all the jeepney and UV Express routes are divided between those who pass by the exact same road as the LRT Line 2 and those who are using a different route. For the road public transport services that are passing directly and parallel with the LRT Line 2, they were broken down to match the same station to station division of the LRT Line 2. With this, the travel time and distance of each station to station road are derived from the initial travel time records. Using the new travel time and distance, the average speeds of the jeepneys and UV Express’ per station were computed as shown in Table 8 for jeepneys and Table 9 for UV Express. It should be noted that the red boxes mean that the average speed of that stop is considered to be under heavy traffic (0-10 kph), yellow is considered moderate (10-20 kph), while green is considered to be light traffic (20-60 kph).

Table 8. Average Travel Time and Average Speed of Jeepneys in Study Area Average Average Speed Jeepney Route Travel Time (kph) Cubao - Anonas 0:13:25 7.3 Anonas - Katipunan 0:06:23 9.2 Katipunan - LRT Santolan 0:03:26 39.0 From Cubao LRT Santolan - Sta. Lucia 0:04:29 37.1 Sta. Lucia - SM Masinag 0:06:48 31.3 Sta. Lucia - Junction 0:21:30 12.3

Junction - Sta. Lucia 0:11:27 23.0 SM Masinag - Sta. Lucia 0:05:17 33.8 Sta. Lucia - LRT Santolan 0:07:48 24.8 To Cubao LRT Santolan - Katipunan 0:10:10 19.5 Katipunan - Anonas 0:13:25 6.1 Anonas - Cubao 0:18:07 6.6

From LRT Station Sta. Lucia - Junction 0:18:27 5.0

1394 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Junction - Cainta 0:05:19 15.8 Junction - Taytay 0:32:35 11.4 Junction - Angono 0:30:48 19.3 Junction - Binangonan 1:08:04 14.3 SM Masinag - Cogeo 0:15:18 25.1 SM Masinag - Padilla 0:37:01 13.3 SM Masinag - Antipolo 0:20:14 33.8 Sta. Lucia - Montalban 1:24:14 11.5

Montalban - Sta. Lucia 1:09:27 13.9 Antipolo - SM Masinag 0:18:07 37.8 Padilla - SM Masinag 0:24:13 20.3 Cogeo - SM Masinag 0:14:57 25.7 To LRT Station Binangonan - Junction 0:22:07 43.9 Angono - Junction 0:27:41 21.5 Taytay - Junction 0:28:39 13.0 Cainta - Junction 0:07:16 11.6 Junction - Sta. Lucia 0:17:21 15.4

Table 9. Average Travel Time and Average Speed of UV Express in Study Area Average Travel Average Speed UV Express Route Time (kph) Cubao - Anonas 0:11:07 8.5 Anonas - Katipunan 0:09:14 7.9 Katipunan - LRT Santolan 0:02:32 50.9 From Cubao LRT Santolan - Sta. Lucia 0:04:06 40.0 Sta. Lucia - SM Masinag 0:05:36 40.4 Sta. Lucia - Junction 0:16:15 15.9

Junction - Sta. Lucia 0:12:22 21.7 SM Masinag - Sta. Lucia 0:03:59 44.4 Sta. Lucia - LRT Santolan 0:07:07 31.3 To Cubao LRT Santolan - Katipunan 0:06:36 19.8 Katipunan - Anonas 0:10:03 5.9 Anonas - Cubao 0:16:51 5.7

Sta. Lucia - Junction 0:16:15 15.9 Junction - Taytay 0:22:32 16.5 From LRT Station Junction - Angono 0:24:01 24.7 SM Masinag - Cogeo 0:19:18 19.9 SM Masinag - Padilla 0:24:56 19.7

1395 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Average Travel Average Speed UV Express Route Time (kph) SM Masinag - Antipolo 0:28:26 24.1 Katipunan - Montalban 1:09:03 13.9

Montalban - Katipunan 1:48:21 8.9 Antipolo - SM Masinag 0:20:13 33.8 Padilla - SM Masinag 0:21:10 23.2 To LRT Station Cogeo - SM Masinag 0:16:58 22.6 Angono - Junction 0:41:40 14.3 Taytay - Junction 0:34:38 10.7 Junction - Sta. Lucia 0:12:22 21.7

Knowing that the profit is directly affected by the number of trips per day (Labastilla, G. 1999), the optimum route for the road public transport services should be where the jeepneys and UV express can make more trips per day than their average. With this, the average speed per route must increase to increase the number of trips per day. Using the new travel time data, trial and error is used to find the fastest average speed per road. The rationalized routes are chosen where the road public transport services will be able to travel faster. The distances between routes are also considered. Since some current routes are longer than others, we made them similar to be able to have similar system. During analysis, it was discovered that a lot of the optimum routes ended at the Emerald and Masinag station. To avoid overcrowding and also because there are minor differences between their average speeds, some of the routes are extended.

6. CONCLUSIONS

6.1 Summary of Findings

Following are the main findings of this study: a) Only 5.7% of drivers believe that changing routes will increase their daily earnings. b) 87% of drivers interviewed believe that a decrease in profit does not influence them to change routes. c) 33% of drivers interviewed find that applying for route modification will take too much time. d) 44% of drivers interviewed are undecided whether to apply for route modification. e) SM Masinag – Cubao is the most preferred rationalized route. f) Cubao – Katipunan is the most congested stretch of the routes covered in this study, and is the common factor for comparison of travel times.

It was found that 74% of jeepney and UV express drivers are not familiar with the process of route modification regulated by the LTFRB. This is a major factor since being unable to know that there is such a process would make the official process of route modification ineffective. Also, a decrease in profit does not influence drivers to change routes and isn’t considered an important factor for convincing drivers to change their routes as originally perceived to be at the start of the study.

1396 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

6.2 Recommendations

A significant majority (74%) of jeepney and UV Express drivers interviewed were found to be unfamiliar with the process of route modification as administered by the LTFRB. There is a need to improve the process of dissemination of information to drivers and operators. Also, a simpler and less time-consuming process of applying for route modification would entice more drivers and operators to consider possible change in routes. Of course, this also requires clear and factual bases for the proposed route changes including the comparisons of travel times and the effects on drivers’ revenues or incomes. After analyzing the travel time and interview survey data, the proposed modified routes are shown in Tables 10 and 11, and illustrated in Figure 14.

Table 10. Current Jeepney Routes vs Proposed Routes Ave. Speed Proposed Modified Ave. Speed Current Route (kph) Route (kph) Cogeo - Cubao 13.708 Cogeo- LRT Santolan 28.226 Padilla – Cubao 13.297 Padilla – Emerald 17.077 Antipolo- Cubao 19.869 Antipolo – SM Masinag 35.671 Taytay – Cubao 11.134 Taytay – LRT Santolan 12.715 Cainta - Cubao 12.366 Cainta – Katipunan 17.479 Angono – Cubao 16.275 Angono – Emerald 20.106 Montalban - Cubao 11.047 Montalban – Emerald 12.571 Binangonan - Riverbanks 19.472 Binangonan - Emerald 20.280

Table 11. Current UV Express Routes vs Proposed Routes Ave. Speed Proposed Modified Ave. Speed Current Route (kph) Route (kph) Cogeo - Cubao 15.627 Cogeo- LRT Santolan 22.951 Padilla – Cubao 17.801 Padilla – Emerald 24.944 Antipolo- Cubao 24.253 Antipolo - Masinag 28.119 Antipolo – LRT Santolan 28.835 Antipolo - Masinag 28.119 Taytay – LRT Santolan 13.924 Taytay- Emerald 17.412 Montalban - Cubao 9.741 Montalban – Emerald 26.778 Binangonan - Riverbanks 18.453 Binangonan - Emerald 12.571

Figure 14. Proposed Modified Routes for Jeepneys and UV Express

1397 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Route modification here translates to the shortening of jeepney routes with units terminating at LRT Line 2 stations, particularly with respect to the Katipunan, Santolan, Emerald, and Masinag stations. This also solves the problem of overcrowding of jeepneys and UV Express that contributes to significant traffic congestion along certain sections of routes including in Cubao and the LRT Santolan Station. Such will reduce the travel distances covered by the jeepneys as well as reduce their travel and turnaround times resulting into more roundtrips per day and a greater profit per day assuming that the number of passengers will at least be the same. Also, such a rationalization will lead to a more structured public transport system with a more established hierarchy among public transport modes (i.e., jeepneys and UV Express complementing and feeding rail transit). Such reduced travel times and perhaps a more efficient transfer between modes would also likely benefit passengers.

6.3 Further Studies and Opportunities

Based on the findings of this study, the following topics may be considered by researchers and practitioners:  Studies on possible further extension of the LRT Line 2 and the accompanying stations.  Studies on the passenger/commuter preferences for public transport (jeepneys and UV Express) in comparison to LRT Line 2.  Studies on the mode-shift from private vehicles to public transportation with estimates and comparisons of operating parameters such as travel speeds and costs.

There is also the opportunity to introduce services like the Point-to-Point bus (P2P). The P2P bus will complement the LRT Line 2 in such a way that it carries more passengers than jeepneys and UV Express in situations where there would be an increased demand (particularly during peak hours). Potential P2P bus routes would be Emerald Station to Cogeo, SM Masinag to Antipolo, Emerald to Tikling via Junction.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study was funded by the National Center for Transportation Studies Foundation, Inc. of the University of the Philippines Diliman.

REFERENCES

Andres, C.M and Fernandez, J.R. (2015) Analysis of trip cutting behavior of jeepneys and UV Express with respect to LRT Line 2 Santolan and Katipunan Stations. Unpublished Research Project, Institute of Civil Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman. Quezon City Philippines Labastilla, G.L. (1999) Empirical Analysis of Route Operating Characteristics Level of Service and Profitability: The Case of Jeepneys in the City of Manila. Unpublished Thesis. School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

1398 Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017

Japan International Cooperation Agency (2011) Preparatory Study for LRT Line 2 Extension Project. Final Report. Oriental Consultants Co., LTD. Katahira & Engineers, International Tonichi Engineering Consultants, Inc. Systems and Management Dynamics Inc. (1985) The Financial Assessment of Jeepney Operations in Metro Manila. Final Report. Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Republic of the Philippines. Premium Point to Point Bus (2016) Retrieved from http://www.dotc.gov.ph/index.php/8- advisory/164-p2p-christmas-premium-express-bus-service [Accessed April 2016]. P2P Bus Services: Routes and Schedules (2016) Retrieved from http://www.gov.ph/2016/05/03/p2p-bus-services/ [Accessed May 2016].

1399