The Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) and two other major transport groups are not supporting the proposal of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to open up the EDSA bus lanes for carpooling services of large private vehicles.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Friday lauded the support of PBOAP executive director and spokesperson Alex Yague, Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines president Melencio “Boy” Vargas and Pasang-Masda national president Roberto “Ka Obet” Martin for agreeing with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) against making the EDSA busway lane accessible to private cars.
LTFRB chief Vigor Mendoza II echoed this position and said the declaration of support was coursed through the agency. The groups reacted to a previous statement of MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III that they were studying to allow big private cars to use EDSA for carpooling.
PBOAP executive director and spokesman Alex Yague said the objective of the EDSA Carousel program on EDSA would be defeated if more private cars would be allowed to use it.
Vargas feared that the MMDA proposal would only lead EDSA back to the old days of horrendous traffic at the expense of the ordinary workers. Martin reminded the proponents of carpooling that the EDSA Busway is just one lane.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez on Wednesday evening expressly rejected the idea of turning the EDSA Busway into a carpooling route.
“The DoTr is opposed to the proposal to allow carpooling on the EDSA Busway. The busway was designed primarily to move more people, not more cars, by providing fast and uninterrupted service to buses carrying up to 300,000 passengers daily,” he said in a statement.
“We appreciate the efforts of MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III to look for solutions to traffic congestion in the Metro, but the President’s directives are clear: government transport policy must be commuter-focused and pro–mass transit, not car-centric,” Lopez added.
The DOTr chief, meanwhile, noted that they are “always open for a dialogue with GM Torre, other agencies and civil society organizations to create more innovative, well-thought-of and holistic solutions to traffic problems.”
