The inefficiencies in the Philippine public transportation system

If there's one defining characteristic of Philippine public transportation, it's inefficiency. Taking a jeep or bus to any given point takes twice to thrice as long as if you were taking a taxi or car. Not only that, but they cram as many of you as they possibly can inside the vehicle before moving a single inch. And that is why they cost practically nothing ($0.19).

There are two main factors that incentivize the inefficiency of the public transportation system in the Philippines. 

The first factor is the fact that the jeepney and bus drivers earn money per commuter. This of course would provide an incentive for jeepneys and buses to carry as many passengers as they possibly can at all times. Drivers react to this incentive by camping out at stops and waiting, sometimes as long as 30 minutes, until they are absolutely overloaded before leaving. Another reaction to this incentive is that drivers oftentimes drive very fast, even though they are driving something as big as a bus, in order to win the competition for commuters. The commuters suffer the consequences in the form of long wait times while commuting, uncomfortable vehicles, and dangerous driving. You cannot really blame the drivers, they are simply reacting to the incentives that are put in place by the current system. 

Other countries however, get around this by paying drivers a constant wage, regardless of how many passengers actually ride their vehicle. This removes all incentive to spend an inordinate amount of time waiting for commuters at a stop, to cram as many people as possible into a vehicle, and to compete with other drivers for passengers. 

The second factor is the fact that the Philippines allows jeeps and buses to load and unload passengers at any location whatsoever. This is one of the main contributors to the slowness of the public transportation system, since not only do multiple stops slow down the journey, but cause unnecessary traffic to the vehicles behind and around the stopping vehicle. 

This could be remedied very easily if the government could only designate the places a vehicle can load and unload passengers, instead of simply putting up fences in the places where they are not supposed to load and unload passengers. Tell them where to stop instead of trying to tell them where they should not stop. 

These measure will not stem the traffic caused by the proliferation of cars in the Metro, but if the public transportation system were to become more efficient, more comfortable, and get people to where they want to go faster, more and more people might just opt to commute around the Metro instead of drive around it.