MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will spend another P212 million for the modernization of the EDSA busway next year in the absence of a resolution to privatize it, an official said yesterday.
According to DOTr project planner Joshua Joseph Rodriguez, the government included at least P212 million in the expenditure plan for 2023 to procure and install traffic signals, as well as secure janitorial and security services, for the EDSA busway.
The DOTr will also purchase station timers that would notify bus driver on how long they could stay at the busway stations. The DOTr found out that one of the causes of traffic buildup along the EDSA busway is when buses linger too long at their designated stops.
The DOTr has spent P738 million for the development and improvement of the EDSA busway. In 2020, the agency shelled out P155 million to buy and set up around 36,000 concrete barriers to outline the exclusive lane for buses.
Likewise, Rodriguez said the DOTr paid out P33 million for the civil works of the initial stations in 2020 and P77 million for the additional stops in 2021.
For 2022, the DOTr received a record P473 million for the EDSA busway that it used to institute a project management office tasked to oversee the infrastructure.
The agency deployed the financing for the retrofitting of existing stations, such as the expansion of stations and installation of lifts, CCTV, solar panels and bus timers.
Under the current EDSA busway, up to 550 units can pass through the exclusive lane every day. Based on records, at least 335,471 commuters benefit from the EDSA busway.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board plans to add 100 units to the EDSA busway to bring the total number of buses in the infrastructure up to 650. The DOTr will undertake expansion projects to raise the passenger capacity to more than 500,000 daily.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said negotiations to turn over of the EDSA busway to the private sector through the public-private partnership (PPP) should be explored as early as now to deliver the most benefits to EDSA commuters.
“(The) result of this possible joint venture could serve as a prototype for other PPP endeavors in various modes of transport,” Bautista said.