The uniquely Filipino method of asking a public utility vehicle to pull over so a passenger can disembark, anywhere, anytime, and anyhow, is to simply say the magic word. “Para” works in most of the country, but in Negros and other parts of the Visayas, our preferred voice activated command for the jeepney driver is “lugar lang.”
When spoken inside a PUV, the driver will instantaneously stop the vehicle so the passenger can disembark. It doesn’t matter if they are in the middle of the road, on a pedestrian crossing, blocking an intersection or a traffic light. When the command is given, the jeepney driver, whether traditional or modern, who is required to wield a “professional” driver’s license, will stop.
This stop anywhere policy that is tolerated by everyone, from the drivers to the passengers, to other motorists, and even the authorities, is one of the reasons why Filipino roads are among the most unsafe and chaotic in the galaxy. Drivers on Philippine roads need to be extra alert all the time because nobody knows when or where a PUV will suddenly pull over, because someone apparently wants to get on or off.
In our case, the command “Lugar lang” should be better than “Para” as in the beginning, it could have could’ve meant (sa insakto na) lugar lang (palihog), or ‘may I disembark at the proper place pretty please mister driver sir’, but as well all know, that is no longer the case as our nation’s PUV drivers and commuters know for certain that stopping anywhere they please is their privilege.
The Lugar Lang system is one of the things that messes up traffic so much in this country. After all, how can it flow smoothly when a random jeepney or PUV will just stop anywhere, anytime, blocking everything else behind it (if we are lucky), and maybe even stopping in between lanes if the driver is feeling extra cheeky (which is rather common). Why can’t they stop at designated areas so everyone using the same road – motorists, commuters, pedestrians – knows when to expect them to stop?
It is amazing how after all this time and all the complaints of the worsening traffic and increasingly unsafe roads, no town or city has tried adopting a PUV stop system. It’s either we prefer chaos to any sense of order, or our public officials who could be doing something about it are either too lazy to think of a better way to get basic things done, or too afraid of losing voters by changing the system which will mean some growing pains during the inevitable adjustment period.
In places where a PUV (bus) stop system is the norm, a PUV cannot stop anywhere it pleases. It can only pick up and discharge passengers at designated areas. This means everything is more predictable so it is less chaotic and unsafe. Drivers know that the PUV will neither be weaving erratically nor stopping randomly. Passengers know when and where they should get on or off. Instead of a secret route code that only locals know, a proper route and system can be established and posted at the designated PUV stops, making it easier for anyone, tourists included, to figure out how to use public transport.
After all, how are first timers, visitors, and tourists supposed to know exactly where to get off when there are no designated stops? How does “You can get on a Shopping-Northbound at the Dunkin, and make sure to get off after the second 7-11 that you see” make sense, when it can be as simple as “take bus/jeepney 55 from PUV stop A and get off after 3 stops, at stop D”? If we are so in love with it, we can still choose to say para or lugar lang to tell the driver that the next stop is yours. Right?
It may sound simple, but another reason why nobody has probably dared to do it is that it is also quite complicated, if you come to think of it. Figuring out the most efficient locations for the PUV stops is one. Fixing sidewalks to make the city walkable, so commuters don’t mind actually walking (God forbid) to the designated stops is another. Putting in place a dispatching system that ensures the stops aren’t congested, along with one that discourages the cutthroat competition among PUVs for passengers is also another challenge. Our public officials shouldn’t just give up simply because an initiative or potential upgrade for the community is going to be tough or difficult. But based on what we’ve been getting thus far, it looks like nobody is willing to try because “if it ain’t THAT broke, don’t fix it,” right?
Is it time to say “Lugar Lang” to this backward, confusing, chaotic, and unsafe way of doing public transport, so we can finally leave it behind and move forward?*
