Victory Liner: Health Risk!

It’s been a month since I started spending weekends in Manila.  Bus fare going from Iba, Zambales to Manila is now at 330 pesos, a very high price compared to bus fares three months before. Did the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) approve the increase?  But taking public transports is still the choice over using ones car especially with the current fuel prices.  Victory Liner is the only bus company plying the Zambales route.  It’s been that way since I was a kid even in the days when my parents went to college in Manila.  It’s a virtual monopoly practiced by owners of transport companies that have intermarried to form a cartel like organization that selects areas to operate avoiding competition.

 

I used to brag to my friends that compared to other bus companies whose service I’ve tried, Victory Liner is way better.  But lately, due to rising fuel prices, the quality of service have gone from better to worst.  First time I rode the bus last month; I noticed that they tend to turn off the air conditioning at a stop over in Pampanga.  According to the driver, it’s a new company policy and if we have issues we should complain to their supervisor.  It’s a good idea since turning off the air conditioning and at the same time the engine saves a lot of fuel and reduces carbon monoxide emissions… hence, save the planet!  When they restart the air conditioning system of the bus though, the rest of the journey to Manila is considerably hot.  The other times I rode the bus, luckily it was raining and it somehow helped in keeping the temperature cool inside the bus.  On a recent trip on my home from Manila, I immediately talked to the conductor as the bus left the terminal.  I asked him if the air conditioning system could get any more cooler because I suspect that they are only allowed to set the air conditioning system at a specified level.  He said that “it’s company policy” and they can’t do anything about it and of course you do not argue with the people that’s supposed to move you from one place to another.  Take your complaint to the bus company!  A co-passenger who overheard my little chat with the conductor agreed with my observation and relayed his dismay at the so called “company policy.”  He said, usually buses starts their air conditioning system way before the departure time at the terminal to cool the insides of the bus.  Unfortunately now, they just open the air conditioning when the bus is about to leave.  Imagine the combined temperature of human bodies that would occupy the bus, he added.  If the normal body temperature is at 36.8 °C ± 0.7 °C, multiply that with the number of passengers plus the inside temperature of the bus… that’s a lot of heat!  My co-passenger talked with the supervisor at the stop over in Pampanga and was given the number of Victory Liner’s “customer care” and according to the supervisor; Victory Liner already received a lot of complaints. 

 

Obviously it’s not only us passengers who gets to suffer from a “hot” air-conditioned bus, even the drivers and conductors.  All I do is sit, they get to drive and walk up and down the aisle to attend to passengers.  I don’t get to spend much energy compared to them hence I produce less heat.  Although I believe I have recurring colds every weekend, I pity Victory Liners front line soldiers.  They get to do their jobs, but the owner doesn’t care about their health.  Sooner or later, all of them would get sick paralyzing operations and the company’s income. 

I hope the company policy gets changed before Saturday, as I’d be going to Manila again. 

 

At 330 pesos a ride, I hope I’d get the soothing cool service I paid for.

 

 

Oh my gas!

Saturday last week, the price of diesel went up by 3 pesos, considered the highest price hike to date.  Come Monday, a rollback was announced amounting to 1.50 pesos.  Why is that when there’s a fuel price increase, oil companies uses the same rate?  Do they get their oil from the same supplier?  Do they buy it at the same time?

 

In our town, we have all the major oil companies, Shell, Caltex and Petron.  At a neighboring town, there’s Flying V who was first to jump on the 1% bio-diesel blend.  Geographically between two big players is an “un-branded” fossil fuel reseller whom according to an associate buys its fuel from the big oil companies mentioned above.  Whoever gives the lowest wholesale price, that’s where the un-branded reseller buys its fuel.  As a result, he gets to sell or compete with the big oil companies at a lower price.  I noticed Petron does not care to lower it’s price to compete with the un-branded reseller and even Caltex since geographically, they are far from the un-branded reseller.  Shell on the other hand is just a few feet away, and to compete with the unbranded reseller, sells their product at the same price with the un-branded reseller.  This way worked for Shell, as one gasoline attendant would say, they lowered their price at par with the unbranded reseller to get more customers.  They believe that by offering the same price, consumers would prefer Shell to the unbranded reseller.   As a result, we enjoy a lower or sometimes the same price for diesel with those from Metro Manila, which should not be the case since the cost of transport of fuel is factored on the selling price at the pumps.

 

Rising oil prices is a global phenomenon.  My friend who resides in Germany told me 2 months ago that the price of diesel there is 90 pesos per liter.  Knowing that, do you think we are lucky that the price of diesel hasn’t broken the 60-peso price?  Even if we look at it as a global crisis, do you think our government can’t do anything about it?  Are the militant people wrong in staging rallies in front of big oil companies demanding for cheaper fuel?

 

The Arroyo administration can do something about it.  So it pleaded with Petron for a rollback and it did with 1.5 pesos.  The answer to skyrocketing oil prices is as of the moment Petron.  The government has a considerable stake on Petron (40%) but sadly, instead of increasing its shares and taking full control of Petron, the government is opting to sell it’s remaining shares to turn it into funds for infrastructure that we all know majority of it would not really materialize!  Screw deregulation!  What would happen if the government takes over Petron? When I say, “take over,” not the hostile one but the legit corporate buying of shares that the government can exercise.  The government can now freely adjust fuel prices that should be lower than the other big players are setting on us.  Thus will result in lowering of fuel prices that is reasonable to all stakeholders just like what happened when Petron lowered their prices by 1.5 pesos, the other oil companies followed suit.

 

Come to think of it, the unbranded fuel reseller looking rag-tagged with surplus pump machines has done a better job in exercising competition than the big fat government who has the means but tries to do the moronic thing.  With this, I really think Sec. Angelo Reyes should resign.  It’s okay with me if he makes a fool of himself, but being in government and as retired military personnel, he gives the men in uniform a bad precedent.

The picture above is from my friend Vhlad

 

Check out his flickr account!

 

 

Earth Browser!

We all know the popular Google programs available through the net for free.  Everybody knows Google Earth and on its release I bet your first use of the program is to locate your whereabouts.  Google Earth is one revolutionary product whose predecessors were previously available only for select people. 

 

A few months ago I received an e-mail regarding Earth Browser.  At first I thought it’s a clone of Google Earth so I ignored it.  Then I chance it upon a second time and checked it out (http://www.earthbrowser.com/).

 

Installation

Earth Browser was developed using Adobe Air so it’s an Internet application used as a desktop application (a desktop application connected to the Internet).  Why the term ‘air?”  Applications made on Adobe Air create an illusion that they float on your screen and is perceived to be the cause of death of all Internet browsers.  In installing Earth Browser, by clicking the “install now” option on the Earth Browser homepage previously mentioned, it would first install Adobe Air if you don’t have it.  When I installed using this method, I encountered an error with Adobe Air.  So I decided to visit the Adobe Air homepage (http://www.adobe.com/products/air/) and installed it first (separately). 

 

First Impression

It looks like Google Earth at first but when you try to zoom, you won’t be able to see that much detailed topography as the maximum zoom view is only up to 45km from the earth’s surface.  If you want to view those detailed maps like in Google Earth luckily you don’t have to open your Google Earth anymore.  Inside Earth Browser, there’s an icon that let’s you access Google Maps. 

 

Strengths

Real-time display of weather patterns is what caught my attention.  Earth Browser can display the weather condition for a particular area like or shall I say even our little town.  Click a particular area with a “yellow dot” and it shows the week’s weather forecast.  Let’s say the recent typhoon “Frank” that hit the country.  Using Google Earth and by clicking or enabling the “weather” option, one would get to see the swirling mass of a typhoon over the country.  However, it does not plot the probable path of the typhoon and that’s where the Earth Browser comes in, which can plot the 4 possible path points.

 

Though we all know that there’s no such thing as an accurate weather forecast and even an accurate prediction of a typhoon’s path like what the typhoon Frank just demonstrated.  But it’s good to know that Earth Browser’s weather forecast comes from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

 

I think ABS-CBN is already getting its weather forecast from Earth Browser as one time, I was watching the evening news and their forecast was exactly the same.

 

The Earth Browser 3.0.4 is the current version and can be tried as a demo.  Certain functionalities I guess are available for a fee of 29.95 USD (with two years free upgrade and support). 

30 USD plus an Internet connection?  I guess that’s not too much for a company like Sulpicio Lines.

Earth Browser

Google Earth