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Re: 2013 Toyota Prius c - Car Reviews

tito — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:21:40 -0000

Heading for Baguio? For your road tests, by June you may be enjoying the TPLEx from the terminus of SCTEX. It may only be single carriageway, but it should lead past Rosales and you can shadow the Magilas Trail from there via Asingan to Binalonan to rejoin the crummy old North Road

Re: 2013 Ford Ranger Wildtrak Drive

tito — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:55:35 -0000

That bumpy stretch of NLEx won't be bumpy for long. Like the advanced countries, NLEx operators repave segments on a regular basis, something like 3 to 4 years for the most truck hammered segments. You may have noticed that some segments already have spanking brand new pavement, as good as it was in 2005. It does take time though as the most heavily trafficked segments will take some 2 years to fully repave as the operators wouldn't want to cause too much traffic by closing off large segments for rehabilitation. The operators also have to lay off on repaving during the rainy season and when then there are seasonally huge increases in traffic as in some public holidays.

Re: 2013 Ford Ranger Wildtrak Drive

tito — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 05:50:44 -0000

ha, ha, ha! Kidding aside, they make sure the clearances under the bridges are the same. If plans push through for an elevated railway in the median, then you Sir, are a prophet as the median will indeed be a curb...

Re: 2013 Toyota Prius c - Car Reviews

tito — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 05:59:58 -0000

Keeping our fingers crossed. I suspect that at Rosales, one has the option to go west to Villasis to rejion MacArthur, or east to Rosales town itself to join the Magilas trail. Now it depends if they open the flyover beyond the Villasis Rosales road which means one can drive direct to Asingan and then connect to the last portion of the Magilas trail back to Binalonan. Avoid Urdaneta at all costs though. MacArthur is now fast in some sections because of the recent widening.

Re: 2013 Toyota Prius c - Car Reviews

tito — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:57:49 -0000

While on the subject of faster roads for road tests this year for Auto Industriya, latest word about TPLEx is that Stage 1A will open - the full dual carriageway - from SCTEx to Gerona some 18kms this August. Phase 1B up to Carmen Rosales is next year.

Re: First drive: the 2014 Chevrolet Spin MPV in Thailand

tito — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 10:41:47 -0000

Kindly post a dimension comparison of the Spin vs. Avanza, Livina, Ecosport and even the Suzuki SX4 Crossover and APV [if only for its similar pricing]. The comparison you did for the Mitsubishi Attrage errr.... G4 was remarkable and perhaps should be SOP for new models that will have to meet the existing opposition.

Re: Is Mitsubishi PH eyeing Mirage G4/Attrage for local production?

tito — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 04:18:00 -0000

If I am not mistaken, Nissan Motors Phils. Inc. in Santa Rosa, Laguna also assembles the X-trail and Livina.

Re: 2013 Ford Explorer 4x2 EcoBoost Limited

tito — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 11:46:35 -0000

Vince, it would seem that YTD, the Explorer actually outsells the Focus in our country! Amazing considering the higher price point of the Explo vis-a-vis the Focus. Excellent car though the Focus is, it may be let down by the toughness of the seats as some have commented. On the contrary, I am not aware of any complaint about the Explo seats. Is it that Ford's tough truck image makes it hard for them to sell cars? Witness the lukewarm sales of the previous Focus, despite the great and now lamented TDCi. With such a truck mage, Imagine how the new Everest will perform here when its launched. Though Explo sales are good for the US's car making bottom line, Ford should not and cannot be satisfied with the sales performance of the Focus despite it ticking all the boxes and extremely well priced in features. Paging the Ford folks in ASEAN HQ. There's got to be some reason to this...

Re: MMDA closes some U-turn slots in Metro

tito — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 04:10:37 -0000

The planned closure of the EDSA U-turn under the Gil Puyat/Kalayaan flyover every morning and evening will simply move the congestion to both the Buendia U-turn on Paseo de Roxas and Ayala EDSA at Grade traffic light junction. This will mean disaster for the Baclaran bound service road at EDSA Ayala. Why? All those vehicles making a U-turn to go to Kalayaan will lose access, necessitating them to move further south. You can imagine the overflowing queue of buses and cars attempting to U-turn at Ayala, waiting for their turn if buses will even allow them to pass through the lane. This CLOSURE should NOT PROCEED. The reason why traffic slows at the Gil Puyat EDSA junction, North bound is because of the confluence of 2 lanes service road at grade, 3 lanes from the Ayala tunnel and 2 lanes from the Ayala flyover. These all converge with buses scrambling to shift lanes from Ayala flyover to the Forbes park bus stop. All these lanes squeeze into 3 lanes. The present set up of the U-turn slot exit lane is PAST the 3-lane constriction on EDSA ERGO the U-TURNING TRAFFIC DOES NOT CAUSE the slow down of flow in this area as there are orange "Toblerone" traffic wedges to keep the U-turning traffic from spilling over the 3 remaining through lanes of EDSA north bound traffic. Closing this U-turn slot, even on a trial basis at the set times will be a disaster.

Re: MMDA closes some U-turn slots in Metro

tito — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 09:54:57 -0000

As of Monday, for all intents and purposes a holiday thanks to a massive 14 hour medical mission courtesy of the Iglesia ni Kristo, one should already see the ill effects of the 7 to 10am and 4 to 8pm closure of this crucial U-turn slot. With Tuesday, another holiday to honor the Muslims, lets hope some wise guy claims that closing the U-turns was a success. Wait till Wednesday and even more so, Friday. Anyone who has a map of this area, or at least take a look at Google Maps, will see that the cause of the traffic slowdown approaching Buendia Guadalupe bound is because of the Buendia flyover median and the transition of the MRT from surface to underground. AGAIN, we repeat, the constriction or chicane occurs BEFORE the U-turn slot that is the main access route for Fort bound traffic via Kalayaan. The U-turn slot is not the cause of the traffic slowdown in this area. Traffic authorities should do the math. A total of 7 lanes of interposing traffic, not counting 5 lane merging for buses causes the slow down here as it squeezes into 3 lanes just in front of the Forbes Park gate. The U-turn slot is AFTER this squeeze. Am I the only one who sees this?

Re: Goodbye easy driver's license renewal

tito — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 07:55:05 -0000

The convenience of while you wait for your driver's license renewal has been a happy convenience compared to the former renewal process of going to an agency and going back again every 30 days to receive the renewed license. As for the driving exam, this is not covered by renewals. Driving exams are for first time applicants and is not relevant to the process of drivers license renewals. As for the DFA system of delivering passports by mail, it is certainly convenient compared to waiting the whole day in a government office, but in renewing one's license, this "waiting the whole day in a government office" does not apply as millions of license holders will attest. PUV drivers are not in favor of receiving one's license via mail as every day they are off the road, without a license, means lost income. As for receiving your renewed license via mail versus waiting for 30 minutes, well I suppose convenience is relative. It's a free country.

Re: Goodbye easy driver's license renewal

tito — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 12:29:53 -0000

Perhaps you may not have experienced renewing your license at the numerous LTO agencies for the past 10 or so years. Allow me to explain further, Mr. Laygo.

The Total 30 minutes is from the time you get your form and leave the agency with your new license. Yes, they or rather, we all leave with our new licenses. If you cannot imagine it happening, then you must visit an LTO agency and see it in action. This is a reality that has been happening for the past so many years.

By the way, the renewal of licenses is required every three years. Indeed LTO prints the new license while you wait.Mind you, one can also renew one's license wherever he or she is. A QC resident license holder can renew in Pampanga if he or she happens to be in the vicinity and would like to do so.

As for the PUV driver losing income without a license, the proper comparison is 30 minutes total transaction time including queueing versus going back to the agency in 30 days as was the practice before in the bad old days. Sometimes, the license holder, is given a slip of paper that serves as another temporary driving permit for another 30 days until the renewed license is printed out. That opened the way for fixers. But those were the bad old days when renewing a license was not a while you wait proposition.

Also many license holders, PUV drivers included, do renew before expiry day.

LTO provides for early renewal of licenses. Regardless if one is renewing on expiry day or 60 days before expiry day, the total transaction time is still 30 minutes. If I am not mistaken the DMV's of various US States do the same practice.

Personal appearance beats mail to address verification anytime, if the concern is genuine identification of license holder. Especially now that government offices have CCTV's recording all transactions.

As for the renewal of the license, a driver's exam is not the starting point of the transaction. A license renewal begins with a current license holder whose license approaches the 3 year validity period expiry.

The driving exam is for first time applicants for drivers license.

If one has an existing license, even if expired, an exam is not a requirement or prerequisite for renewal.

As to the efficacy of the driving exam being a good gauge of genuine skill, that's another story.

Re: Goodbye easy driver's license renewal

tito — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 20:27:03 -0000

That's correct, but then you'll have a new one in 30 minutes or less. In the bad old days, they stamped some temporary permit on your receipt, which is valid for 30 days until you can get your "new" plastic license. That's why you had to go back to the LTO agency again.

Re: Goodbye easy driver's license renewal

tito — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:03:34 -0000

Wow, that's awful! My experience of 30 minutes was for several renewals, : three times in SM Hypermart near Tiendesitas, 30 minutes at the Ayala MRT station, and 30 minutes at Robinsons Galleria. At a renewal frequency of every three years, my personal experience spans 15 years. Recently colleagues have tried SM Clark LTO in Angeles City. 30 minutes too. In fact, the SM Clark LTO is the place where several employees have been renewing for the past 3 or 4 cycles and if the renewal was delayed it was because the main LTO computer in QC was off line. Also, I have heard the same 30 minutes for renewals in MegaMall. LTO should know about that Binangonan agency story so they can investigate.

Re: Goodbye easy driver's license renewal

tito — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:46:01 -0000

Je, the 30 minute renewal time frame only applies to straight forward renewal. I overlooked the fact that your friend added a "1" derestriction so he or she can legally ride/operate a 2 wheeler, which triggers additional criteria to pass. I suppose, and please check with official LTO sources, asking for an addition of allowed vehicles to drive, in this case motorcycles,will necessitate extra steps like written and actual exam. The test drive as you refer to must have been the actual driving exam which is dependent on the availability of the official who conducts tests and if there is a long queue of applicants for testing.

As for the P150 rent, I understand that is charged if you didn't bring your own vehicles and as such the LTO agency may not have a vehicle, in this case, a motorcycle for the testing purpose. My guess is the motorbike was rented from a third party and not LTO.

I recall my first driving exam, graduating from student permit to Non-pro license, which was in the early years of Martial Law. The LTO, then called LTC agency, did not have a car for actual testing. But since I arrived in one, we used it for a very short and simple drive for less than a block, then U-turn then park. Finished. No fee was charged for the use of the car as it was my car, naturally.

Re: Holy Week 2014 traffic horror at TPLEX

tito — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 09:34:37 -0000

Thank you, Ruel!

Re: Ban the bans that ban trucks and cars

tito — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 05:15:47 -0000

Thank you, epros! Indeed easier said than done and I am not talking about applying for MMDA. Right now we have no alternative but to bear with the traffic, or so it seems. Oh, about MMDA? Thanks but no thanks. We in the press are more effective in fiscalizing from the outside looking in. Besides, the MMDA related topics are not the only topics journalists observe. If I was employed with the MMDA, I cannot spend my time writing and replying. I believe they've got a good PR doing this already.

Re: PANDACAN: Kicking out Big Oil

tito — Sun, 04 May 2014 03:13:49 -0000

We try! Thanks...

Re: CALAX bidding: In favor of fair play

tito — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 22:05:54 -0000

Thank you for your comment, Mr. Punzalan. Please do not take my stand to mean that government relinquish development and planning to the private sector. I am just advocating that unsolicited proposals should not be rejected as they may even augment government objectives for PPP's and to prevent any arguments or misunderstandings on the devilish details, more consultation should be engaged. If you are a regular reader of The Economist, over time, several articles have sanctioned the need for government subsidies for private sector initiatives simply because government's hands are not as free as private companies. Moreover, governments, are by nature risk averse unlike private corporations. As for abuses or perceived inflated costs, that's what safeguards and vigilant supervision, by expert government agencies are for.

Re: How not to make things worse

tito — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 06:05:14 -0000

Noted, Ryan F1, your comment is a story on its own as it hardly pertains to the article posted. But good points, many of which I agree with.

Re: Anti Drunk driving, PNoy style

tito — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 06:19:27 -0000

Absolutely!

Re: Higher registration fees for multiple vehicle owners proposed in Congress

tito — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 12:48:34 -0000

I'm with you on that, Guest!

Re: Overload with impunity

tito — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:06:15 -0000

Indeed, Ryan F1, Indeed

Re: How not to make things worse

tito — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:15:28 -0000

I wrote a number of stories on how local traffic flow channelization is sorely inadequate and the same with the unscientific levels of illumination. As for examples, I cited in some previous articles that the No-Left turn and channelized U-turn slots that I drove through in the greater Metro Detroit area were a good start. But when it comes to really scientifically designed U-turn slots, combined with staggered T-junctions and in some cases elongated roundabouts, nothing beats what I've driven through in parts of the UK and the Netherlands. In my previous stories, I even downloaded a Dutch road agency's diagram for such. Alas, I just can't find the link to those stories I submitted to another site many moons ago.

Re: Solons want free parking in malls, schools and hospitals

tito — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 11:44:28 -0000

Goodness, its those two solons again! The same guys who proposed escalating registration fees for those who own more than one car. Tsk tsk, now they want free parking. Well and good, if the premises are free but what if there is a cost? Besides, lawmakers are good at making loss that ups the expenses of other people, so long as its not from there pockets/pork. Bundle this with that proposed law to ban HID headlights and the public can start compiling really unfair and hare brained laws that harm us with no expense to these proposers. Can't wait for the next election....