Abaya assures improved MRT services by 2016
MANILA, Philippines - Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya on Monday assured that commuters will experience an improvement in the services of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) by 2016.
"There will be improvement in service come first quarter," Abaya said during the Senate subcommittee on public services hearing on the MRT.
Abaya added that additional trains will be operational by next year, which will increase the MRT's capacity.
"For the first quarter of 2016 what we can expect is the first set of Dalian trains will be moving. Getting a better experience is all relative. But in terms of capacity, we will have additional capacity," Abaya said.
The transportation chief admitted that the state of the MRT could not yet be improved due to failed biddings.
According to MRT 3 General Manager Roman Buenafe, the bidding for elevators conducted three weeks ago failed due to the eligibility of documents submitted by the suppliers.
Meanwhile, the bidding for escalators is undergoing the pre-procurement stage.
Abaya clarified that the Department of Budget and Management should not be blamed for the delayed improvement of the MRT as the agency has already released the budget. He explained that the failure of procurement is also one of the causes of the delay.
"These things happen, and a failure of bid is a reality," the transportation chief told Sen. Grace Poe, who heads the Senate subcommittee.
Poe recalled that in 2014, DOTC Director for Operations Renato San Jose said that the elevators and escalators would be completed by the third quarter of 2015.
The last Senate hearing on the MRT was in February. Last September, Poe inspected the prototype trains delivered from Dalian, China.
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