The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board will test a GPS positioning system that will regulate the speed limit of public utility buses throughout the Philippines.
The GPS device is said to be the best viable option under a study conducted by the UP National Center for Transportation Studies which took place in October of 2014.
The device will first be tested on selected buses in the second quarter of 2015 – based on the study – commuting by bus is six-times riskier than by private car and five-times riskier than travelling by a jeepney or taxi.
The LTO data from 2010 shows that accident rates per 10,000 registered vehicles shows that deaths, injuries and other damages to properties are directly the result of bus accidents – in 2010 alone 10,826 bus accidents happened throughout the Philippines.
“This study validates that there is an urgent need to regulate bus speed to prevent more road accidents from happening on our roads and ensure safety of the riding public,” Ginez said.
Though current speeds are not being changed, the study says that closely monitoring and controlling buses and their speed should remedy the issue.
“The use of GPS and associated communication system looks more viable considering cost and the ease in implementation and regulation,” the UP-NCTS said in the study.
The new GPS system will be mounted inside the vehicle – sending continuous speed and location data to help the central control center keep passengers safe.
A bus will be tagged as speeding when the in-vehicle GPS device exceeds the imposed speed limit. Bus passengers can also monitor real-time speed of the bus through an on-screen display system installed in the bus.