Dizon: MMDA’s Go moving to DOTr

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon hinted yesterday that Gabriel Go of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has accepted the position of DOTr assistant secretary.

“He’s an incoming (asec). Let’s wait. I just submitted his name, but he is helping in the DOTr now,” Dizon said.

Go heads the MMDA’s Special Operations Group-Strike Force for Road Clearing.

Dizon said Go, alongside acting Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Greg Pua Jr., is probing overcharging by buses and taxis.

A hearing is set on Nov. 11 to investigate the alleged overcharging of four bus firms along the EDSA busway.

Last week, Dizon said he wanted Go to lead the DOTr’s road transport and infrastructure sector, particularly the EDSA busway system as well as the new road-based mass transportation projects.

More ticket booths at LRT-1 PITX station

Meanwhile, the DOTr will add four more ticket booths and gates at the Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT-1)’s Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) station to ease passenger congestion during peak hours.

Dizon said overcrowding at the PITX station occurs because the entrance and exit points as well as the ticket-selling areas are located in a single location.

“The number of operational trains is not the problem. The problem here is the lack of ticket booths and gates. That’s why the passengers are congesting,” Dizon said.

He said the DOTr would install signage to redirect passengers from the mall to the ticket booths on the ground floor, making it easier for commuters to purchase tickets after alighting from the buses.

The LRT-1 PITX station has three ticket booths and seven gates that serve around 27,000 passengers daily, according to Dizon.

The DOTr said the additional facilities would be installed before Christmas to ease passenger flow.

Dizon added that the construction of a pedestrian crosswalk is set for next year to connect the LRT-1 station to PITX.

Three trains will be added to the rail line, bringing the total number of operating trains to 32 for Christmas, he said.

“A lot of passengers are going here from Cavite, Las Piñas, Sucat, among others. Everyone goes here to travel north,” Dizon said.