Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.12, 2017 A Study on the Potential for Rationalizating Road Public Transport 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 Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 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 public transport 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 jeepney 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 travel 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 Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 2, LRT-2, or Megatren, is a 13.8 km heavy rail that passes through four cities in Metro Manila. These cities are identified as Pasig, Marikina, Quezon, San Juan, and Manila. It covers 11 stations from Santolan to Recto and transverses major roads such as Aurora Boulevard, Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard, Legarda and Recto Avenue, and Marcos Highway. Last 2012, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved the proposed four-kilometer eastward extension from Santolan, Pasig to Masinag, Antipolo. There will be two additional stations to be constructed, the Emerald Station in Cainta, Rizal 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.