Business group bucks EDSA busway removal

MANILA, Philippines — Instead of removing the EDSA bus lane, the government should enhance the existing Mabuhay Lanes to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila, according to the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

“Any talk of possible dismantling of the EDSA Carousel Line at this stage would be ill advised,” the MAP said in a statement over the weekend.

The statement was signed by MAP president Alfredo Panlilio as well as transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Eduardo Yap.

The group said removing the EDSA busway, which spans Monumento in Caloocan up to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, would go against the National Transport Policy of 2017, which gives priority to public transportation as a mobility solution.

The MAP issued the statement after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announced last week that the government was considering removing the EDSA busway after the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system’s capacity is expanded and once EDSA undergoes rehabilitation.

“To think that a private vehicle with high occupancy on the busway can outload a bus in terms of occupancy is simply unrealistic,” the group said.

“The MRT’s design capacity is just 350,000 passengers. Adding a coach to it will overload its superstructure and trackway,” the MAP added.

The group also said there is no space on the platform for the coach extension.

The group urged the government to revitalize the Mabuhay Lanes, to be utilized fully for motorcycles as they travel point-to-point.

The Mabuhay Lanes should be cleared of traffic obstructions and illegally parked vehicles, according to MAP.

“The MMDA should focus on this as a priority measure to decongest traffic along EDSA,” the MAP said.

The group said an additional lane on EDSA for private vehicles is not seen as a solution to the problem as “experience has shown that such could easily be filled up by traffic.”

As for other measures proposed by the MMDA such as collection congestion fees, the group said these have not been explained to motorists and yet to be tested.

On Friday, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the EDSA busway would be retained, as endorsed by President Marcos.

Despite not being completed, the MAP said the busway has proven to be effective in decongesting EDSA traffic over the past three years.

The privatization of the EDSA Carousel is in the last stage of preparation for public bidding.

The program is being supported by the Public-Private Partnership Center and the World Bank.

Bidding is expected to take place in the second quarter of the year.

According to the Department of Transportation, more than 63 million commuters availed themselves of the busway services last year.

Over 177,000 Filipinos benefit from the EDSA Carousel daily.