MMDA to remove EDSA bus terminals by June

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is set to clear EDSA of all bus terminals by June, an official said yesterday.

Metro Manila’s 17 mayors signed a resolution prohibiting the issuance of business permits to bus firms operating these terminals, according to MMDA chairman Danilo Lim.

“Our direction is to remove all bus terminals along EDSA and relocate them to the outskirts of the metro to minimize traffic congestion,” Lim said during the Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting in Makati City yesterday.

The MMC, composed of Metro Manila mayors, is the MMDA’s policy-making body. 

Lim said the local chief executives are crucial to the removal of the terminals “since they are the ones issuing the permits needed to operate” the terminals, which are considered business establishments.

He also said the MMDA will recommend to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board the closure of the bus terminals next month. 

In the two-page resolution, the MMDA presented to Metro Manila mayors that it was President Duterte who ordered the closure of all bus terminals on EDSA. 

MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said they will conduct a dry run of the planned closure shortly after the Holy Week in April to prepare bus firms and  commuters.

Bong Nebrija, EDSA traffic czar of the MMDA, said the agency will also enforce a speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour on the metropolis’ major roads.

He said the implementation of the speed limit will come after the resolution is published in major newspapers in the country.