Laborers demand reliable mass transpo

The government, present and before it, has failed to address the crisis,” Magtubo said. #trafficcongestion #masstransport

Magtubo said commuters in Metro Manila have been suffering since a decade ago.

A labor leader on Monday has urged the government to provide a mass transportation following the recent disruption of public transits.

“It is about time that the government should face the responsibility of providing a mass transportation that is reliable and efficient as soon as possible,” said Partido Manggagawa National Chair Renato Magtubo.

Magtubo said commuters in Metro Manila have been suffering since a decade ago.

“This was glaringly indicated by the long queues in MRT and LRT stations, longer travel time caused by tremendous traffic and dramatic rise of motorcycles as means of transportation,” he said.

“I think the government, present and before it, has failed to address the crisis,” Magtubo added.

To address the “transportation crisis”, Julius Cainglet, Federation of Free Workers (FFW) vice president, said, “I would recommend a Transport Summit that would bring together national, metro and local government agencies responsible for traffic management, land transport franchising and regulatory board, transport groups, association of bus and jeepney operators, trade unions and other workers affected by traffic,” said Cainglet.

According to Cainglet, the prevailing traffic issue in the country affects not just the time of the commuters.

“During desperate times, they are forced to hail TNVS and Angkas so they won’t be late for work or important appointments outside the office. These eat up a lot from the family budget–hundreds of pesos per day they could have spent on food, saved for the electricity bill and other basic necessities,” he said.