There would be interconnecting the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and MRT lines crisscrossing major thoroughfares, with headways of no more than one minute from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Moving from one line to the other would be within multilevel stations and would not need separate tickets.
Long queues would be outdated. Persons with disabilities, senior citizens, pregnant women, and people traveling with kids can use elevators to get into the stations. More escalators will be available for use. Stations would be more spacious.
EDSA would have a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, aside from a more efficient MRT, and again, pedestrians would regain the use of proper sidewalks on both sides. Bike lanes would be strictly for bikes all around the megacity. Travel time from Monumento to Ayala Avenue in a bus would take no longer than an hour during peak times. There would be scheduled stops along the length of EDSA.
There would be a subway line ... or two. North to south, east to west ... who knows? Why not?
The public utility jeepney (PUJ) would be a new safer version of itself, like how the Filipino has evolved into a more modern, versatile, and tech-savvy Filipino over the decades. Similar with buses, jeepney stops would also be designated and schedules will be followed. The entrance would be at the side, and automated fare cards can be tapped at the entrances.
PUJ routes would feed into bus lines, MRT/LRT, subway lines. Terminals will be spacious and would not clog streets, roads, and highways. Provincial buses could have intercity terminals, why not? These terminals would be served by bus lines, the LRT/MRT, and the subway as well.
One could reach the airports via the subway, the LRT, the MRT, and by dedicated buses. And by trains, too, from outside Metro Manila. Airport limousine buses would also be available to make stops at various hotel destinations or major transport hubs.
The airports would look more like modern airports — no clogged arrival and departure zones. The terminals would interconnect so that passengers can move from terminal to terminal without having to go out and get public transport.
There will be a modern Philippine National Railway service, or a better version of it. Trains will run on time; stations will be elevated so as not to impede the flow of ground level traffic. The stations would at the very least, be as long as the trains themselves.
There would be no tricycles on major roads and their drivers would know that they are not exempt from traffic rules and regulations.
Walking around the city would be a viable option once again.
I can dream, can’t I?
Ms. Habitan served as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Finance where she became a career bureaucrat for 44 years immediately after graduating with a degree in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines. She has a masters degree in D
