Waiting Sheds should be Where Bus and Jeepney Stops Are
Posted on Tuesday, 12 July 2016
WAITING SHEDS SHOULD BE WHERE BUS
AND JEEPNEY STOPS ARE
By Apolinario Villalobos
The Metro Manila Development Authority, in
the case of Metro Manila, and the local government units should check the
location of the waiting sheds distributed along highways and secondary
thoroughfares. Historically, the waiting sheds as projects do not have a good
reputation as their construction have been subject to a corrupt issue, in
particular, the “commission”. Many sheds were allegedly sporadically
distributed without due planning. As a result, today, there are many sheds that
are awkwardly located because they are situated far from the designated bus and
jeepney stops. Who would want then, to wait for a bus or jeepney at a
designated stop under the rain or scorching heat of the sun?
During the past administrations, the
waiting sheds as with the basketball courts, Multi-purpose and Reading Centers
were the favorite sources of commission amassed by corrupt officials. There was
a scramble for budget supposedly intended for the mentioned projects. For this
reason, there are lengths of streets dotted with unnecessary waiting sheds
which later on were just used by street dwellers. In this regard, many
basketball courts and multi-purpose centers were also alleged to have been
overpriced and built with inferior materials.
The authorities are eternally facing a
problem as regards the discipline of commuters and drivers of public conveyances.
The commuters cannot be stopped from waiting for their ride where waiting sheds
are located, but which are far from designated stops. The traffic enforcers are
pitifully doing their best to drive commuters to these designated stops…a
futile effort, when all the while, the solution is remove the old waiting sheds
and build new ones where the bus and jeepney stops are located!
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