The traffic snarl in Metro Manila may partially be solved once the construction of the Taguig Integrated Terminal Exchange project is finished by 2020.
The Department of Transportation early this week said work on the Taguig ITX project, a partnership with Ayala Land Inc., would start in the second half of the year. The project, a six-story building on a 5.57-hectare property inside the FTI compound, will house a passenger concourse, a centralized ticketing area and several business and retail establishments. It will have a provision for 1,200 public utility buses and vehicles’ bays and parking.
The modern and strategic bus terminal is expected to house around 4,000 buses and accommodate 160,000 passengers daily. It will also feature a pedestrian walkway connection to the Philippine National Railways’ FTI station and a proposed subway system. Taguig ITX will essentially serve all provincial buses plying the south of Luzon, Visayas and Mindandao destinations.
The bus terminal, unlike those situated in several areas of Metro Manila, aims to ease traffic congestion along busy thoroughfares. The current bus stations, especially those in Cubao in Quezon City and Pasay City, contribute much to the traffic in the capital region. Provincial buses and their undisciplined drivers, for instance, often clog half of the driving lanes in Edsa when they make their exit from their respective terminals, resulting in huge jams in the adjacent roads.
The Taguig Terminal, meanwhile, set to be built along the Manila-Cavite Expressway in Parañaque City, is designed to provide seamless transfers between different modes of transportation. It will offer a more comfortable and efficient facility for commuters and operators and will help lessen travel time between Cavite and Metro Manila.
The terminal will accommodate provincial and metro buses as well as other public utility vehicles. The mixed-use development will also feature a mall and office spaces for the convenience of passengers.
Now is the time to modernize the transportation system in the Philippines. Along with the upgrade of the jeepneys and the construction of more rail networks and toll roads, the bus terminal including the one in Quezon City should offer commuters a big relief from their hideous daily travel.