The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) supports the decision of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to sustain the operations of the new EDSA Busway System despite calls from the bus operators to re-enforce the previous system allowing buses to use the two yellow bus lanes at the curbside.
“We earnestly urge the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to stay the course and expedite the completion of this project, preferably, in partnership with a private concessionaire, while adhering to global standards and best practices, the MAP said.
The group noted that if bus operators were allowed to go back to the previous route, the rest of EDSA will be clogged by some 3,000 buses plying the entire stretch of the Metro’s major historic thoroughfare.
Another compelling reason why the MAP opposes the proposal was the efficiency of the Edsa Busway and Carousel Line system in supporting commuter peak load as was the case in December 27, 2022 when no more than 550 bus units running on just one innermost busway lane carried one-day peak load capacity of 454,649 passengers. Othel V. Campos
The current bus system also has the lowest capital cost-to-passenger ratio among transit systems given the peak load capacity of almost half million passengers against capital expenditures of P500 million.
Still a work-in-progress, the EDSA Busway achieved several milestones including the average daily busway ridership of 380,378 during the heavy Christmas season in December 2022 while total ridership reached 154,100,856 from June 2020 up to December 2022.
MAP noted that EDSA Busway drivers are better disciplined, stopping only at bus stations and do not linger than what is necessary to onboard passengers.
Commuters’ travel time was also reduced and the Busway also give way to ambulances and emergency vehicles.
In sharp contrast, the discarded highly inefficient two yellow curbside or the outermost lanes bus system gained worldwide notoriety for bumper-to-bumper traffic resulting to massive loss in productivity hours and threatens passenger’s due to exposure to heavy vehicle fumes. During that time, buses do not follow road courtesy.
MAP said that reverting to the failed yellow bus lane system will be grossly detrimental to commuters, to bus operators themselves, and to the economy. Opportunity losses from traffic congestion may likely exceed the previously estimated P3.5 billion daily.
As a complementary measure, the Bus Carousel Line, developed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Land Sector Team in consultation with bus operators, was introduced to operate on the busway with 550 maximum bus units.
This transformational change introduced in June 2020 ushered in a new normal in EDSA, providing a sustainable commuter-friendly alternative bus system that is unimpeded by traffic, under rain-or-shine conditions and with less air pollution.