Motoring Today Column: Promising Year

Jan 06, 2021

Promising Year

It's the first working week of the New Year and many are looking forward to seeing the promise of traffic congestion eased on EDSA, C-5, and other major thoroughfares in Metro Manila fulfilled.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), theMetropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) all have raised expectations of a New Year of faster travel times within Metro Manila.

The main driver of this expectation is the opening of the18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3, the elevated expresway fromBuendia in Makati City to the the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Balintawak in Quezon City .

This seamless link between the NLEX and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) was partially opened to the motoring public, gratis et amore for one month beginning December 29, 2020.

Thank you, Ramon Ang and San Miguel Corporation.

Already many motorists have taken advantage of the free use of what many describe as an engineering marvel that snakes over rooftops and rivers and between buildings.

Many have posted experiencing the promised shorter inter-metro travel times. Promise fulfilled indeed.

Earlier press announcements have said that when completed Skyway-3 will decongest EDSA and other major roads, including Quezon Avenue,Araneta Avenue, Nagtahan, Quirino Avenue, by as much as 55,000 vehicles daily and reduce travel time from Buendia to Balintawak from 2 hours to just 15 to 20 minutes.

But it must be said that these first experiences happened during the holidays when fewer motorists were on the road.

According to press reports, a fully completed Skyway-3 features "2x3 lanes from Buendia to Sgt. Rivera corner A. Bonifacio, Quezon City, 2x2 lanes from Sgt. Rivera corner A. Bonifacio to NLEX Balintawak, Quezon City and 2x3 lanes elevated roadway structure that will connect to the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Project in the vicinity of PUP."

Northbound, the Skyway 3 has on-ramps along Buendia, Quezon Avenue and and Balintawak off-ramp.

Southbound, it has an off-ramps on Buendia, an on-ramp on Plaza Dilao, an off-ramp on Quezon Avenue, and an on-ramp at Balintawak.

SMC is targetting June 14 for the full-operation of the Skyway-3.

The first work week of the year when more motorists and commuters are back on the road should provide indications that indeed the Skyway-3 fulfills expectations.

The optimistics see the Skyway-3 complementing the NLEX Harbor Link segments already in use, including the elevated section between the new Caloocan Interchange, C3 Road/5^th Avenue and the Navotas Interchange which the DPWH touted would also see faster travel times between the NLEX and the Port Area.

When more of the NLEX Harbor Link segments were opened in the middle of last year, DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar said "the expanded NLEX Harbor Link will certainly boost the government's traffic decongestion efforts in Metro Manila and other major thoroughfares."

Villar said the expanded NLEX Harbor Link would also provide an alternative route between Quezon City and Manila.

From the Mindanao Toll Plaza, motorists could reach the Port Area in Manila in about 15 to 20 minutes, he added.

The NLEX Harbor Link, which also has elevated sections, was certainly to beneficial to truckers who now enjoy 24/7 access to the Port Area as there is no truck ban along NLEX.

With both the NLEX Harbor Link and the Skyway 3 providing elevated alternate routes for inter-metro motoring, congestion at ground-level streets is expected to ease.

Of course, motorists should expect to pay for the faster travel times. How much that will be is still up in the air. Here's hoping it won't be too high up there.

More Trains Running

The first work week of 2021 should see commuters benefitting from more train sets running on the completely refreshed tracks and rehabilitated facilities of the MRT-3.

The DOTr reported that 22 trains sets are now running daily on the MRT-3 which last December began running trains at a maximum of 60 kilometers per hour.

Two of these train sets are those from Dalian which have been reconfigured, refitted and re-evaluated to allow for safe use on the MRT-3.

With more trains and faster average speeds, commuter should now be benefitting from shorter waiting times at MRT-3 stations.

The DOTr deserves commendation for how it has turned the MRT-3 around from being an inefficient and unreliable light rail transit operation to an efficient and reliable transport mode.

New Year

Commuters should also be seeing the new trains of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) in operation sooner than later.

The PNR reports that it is now completing the loading gauge test before undertaking validation runs on the last batch of new trains it ordered from Indonesia.

The PNR received last month the last batch of new trains from Indonesia that consists of 15 passenger coaches and three locomotives.

This completes PNR's fleet modernization program.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments & inquiries:

(email) sunshine.television@yahoo.com

(website) www.motoringtoday.ph

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ray Butch Gamboa graduated from the College of Arts and Letters of the University of Sto. Tomas. It was a course that should have been preparatory to a law degree, but the call of broadcasting aborted his plans.

At the age of 16, while still a student, Butch tried his hand at disc jockeying, landing a job at Mareco Broadcasting Network’s AM stations DZBM and DZLM. From there, Butch moved on with his illustrious career as a popular disc jockey, riding the airwaves of Bob Stewart’s middle-of-the-road music at DZXX, and ending his disc jockeying career at ABS-CBN’s DZYL and DZQL.

From there, he stayed on with ABS-CBN, covering live the proceedings at the Manila Stock Exchange and eventually entered into the world of television sales as an account manager for the premier channel of ABS-CBN Channel 2.

In the early 70’s, at the outbreak of Martial Law, Butch was one of the thousands of professionals who woke up jobless when then President Marcos declared the new status of the nation. With the closure of ABS-CBN, Butch ventured into different fields outside of broadcast. He tried his hand and with ease and success at export (Costume jewelry), real estate (brokerage), and restaurants (fast food).

In 1987, after the revolution, with the broadcast industry back to its free state, and with its irresistible call ringing in his ears, Butch made his inevitable comeback and pioneered in a local motoring show, producing Motoring Today on Channel 4 and co-hosting with local motor sports’ living legend Pocholo Ramirez.

After 4 years, he ventured into another pioneering format by producing and hosting Business & Leisure, which was originally aired on ABS-CBN’s Channel 2. The format eventually espoused similar ones in other different channels. But the clones in due course faded away leaving the original staying on airing on Channel 4 and eventually on Shop TV on Sky Cable’s Channel 13.

The following year, the pioneering spirit in Butch spurred him to produce another TV show, Race Weekend, also on Channel 4, covering circuit racing at the Subic International Raceway after the motor sport’s hiatus of 17 years. But when similar shows with duplicated formats sprouted, he decided to give way and ended the program after a year, although still enjoying unparalleled viewership.

In 1998, when the local automotive industry was in a slump, Butch contributed his share to help the ailing industry by producing another popular motoring-related show, this time exclusive to the automobile and its industry—Auto Focus, which became a vehicle for local automotive assemblers and importers to showcase their products and dwell on the industry’s latest technological developments.

In 2003, Butch teamed up with his brother, Rey Gamboa who was a former Shell executive and presently one Philippine Star’s business columnist to co-produce and co-host the TV show Breaking Barriers on Channel 13. It is a talk show that features guests who are in the news and in the middle of controversies. The program ventures to draw deeper insights into current issues to learn how they impact to our daily lives.

Today, Motoring Today on its 28th year of service to the general motoring public still enjoys its unprecedented loyal vierwership nationwide while Auto Focus, after 16 years has firmly established its niche viewership among automobile enthusiasts and on the other hand Business & Leisure is on its 24th year dishing out current business issues and lifestyle features.

Today, aside from writing weekly columns for the Philippine Star (Motoring Today on Wednesdays and Business & Leisure on Saturdays) and executive producer / host of weekly TV shows (Motoring Today, airs Sundays on Solar Sports Channel 70, Business & Leisure, airs Tuesdays on Shop TV, Sky Cable Channel 13 and Auto Focus airs Thursdays on Shop TV, Sky Cable Channel 13, Ray Butch Gamboa is currently the Chairman and CEO of Sunshine Television Production and Marketing Services Corp., President of Gamcor Management and Development Corp., Chairman of Asia-Pacific Realty Corporation, President and Chairman of Socio-Communication Foundation for Asia and Founding Chairman of the Society of Phil. Motoring Journalists (SPMJ)