MRT-3 Should Be Privatized

Recently, talks surrounding the privatization of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-3 have been on the news.

Senator Grace Poe, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, stated that “I agree that the MRT-3 operations should be privatized. As we’ve seen in the past, political interventions have caused more problems and inefficiencies to the MRT operations,”

She also mentioned that “Japan’s train systems are privately run and its operations are seamless.”

“The LRT line is also privately run and had been more efficiently operated compared to the MRT,”

The DOTr reported recently that while the MRT-3 is not for sale but giving its rights of operations and maintenance to a private company.

One of the world’s most efficient and famous commute systems would be that of Japan’s National Railway (JNR). Tokyo is a megacity, home to over 38 million people.

Before being privatized, the JNR experienced public criticism regarding customer complaints, mismanagement, and inefficiencies, and operated at a loss. The lack of ability to address these issues plus competition from other modes of transit led the JNR to fail financially, incurring debt each year.

Privatization was seen as a solution by the Japanese government. However, instead of involving only one company, the JNS was broken up into several smaller companies because of the large size of the company and operated with lines that were not profitable but influenced by politics. After the government deliberated on the split, it was decided that the railway would be split regionally depending on geographic demand to have more independence over smaller decisions.

With the size of Tokyo’s population and the efficiency of its railways, the Philippines could use this as a potential model for metro transport in Metro Manila.

Sources: ADB, ABS-CBN