ON March 21, 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 166 or the 'Ten-Point Agenda on Economic Recovery.' One of the points is 'expand public transport capacity,' recognizing that transportation is an essential service that most of us rely on to get to jobs, schools and basic services. Below are five recommendations for expanding public transport capacity.

– Prioritize road space for public transport. In many Philippine cities, public transport operates along the same roads as private motor vehicles. When roads are devoted mainly to private motor vehicles, public transport is often treated as 'second class' and lower priority. To enable private cars to go faster, public transport is sometimes removed from major roads. For example, provincial buses and UV Express services were barred from EDSA; for many years, public transport was subject to number coding (the Philippines being the only country in the world that did so). Sidewalks were removed to give more space to private cars. Today, we realize that these policies were wrong. The vast majority of Filipinos are not car owners. Nationwide, only about 5 percent are car owners; about 12 percent for Greater Manila. To deliver the greatest good for the greatest number, people without cars — and the travel modes that they use — should have highest priority on our roads.