How do you solve the horrendous traffic situation in Metro Manila?
First, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met earlier this month with the chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and heads of the departments of Transportation, Interior and Local Government, and Public Works and Highways to discuss the Comprehensive Traffic Management Plan for Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The CTMP seeks to create an “inclusive, people-oriented, sustainable mobility system” by enhancing transportation infrastructure and implementing an effective traffic management strategy.
Part of the CTMP is the proposal of the MMDA to close the EDSA busway and allow motorcycles to use the bike lanes on Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare.
The closure of the EDSA busway is premised on the substantial expansion of the passenger capacity of the Metro Rail Transit 3.
With the MRT3 able to accommodate more passengers, the bus lane would be redundant since both ply the same route, according to the MMDA.
The EDSA busway could be turned into a “special lane” that may be used by “high occupancy vehicles” or private vehicles with three to four passengers.
But no less than a total 23 civil society organizations have vehemently opposed the government’s plan to close the EDSA busway and allow motorcycles to use the bike lanes on Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare.
Instead, the CSOs and the group Move as One Coalition advocating safer and more humane public transport urged the government “to work together to put the needs of pedestrians, including those who take public transportation, and people on bicycles, that’s contained in the transportation policy statement in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
This plan clearly puts the needs of pedestrians and cyclists above those of other road users.
The suggestion to close the EDSA busway “makes no sense,” the groups said. “What could be higher occupancy than a bus?” they asked. After all, buses carry more passengers—an average of 46.5—than private vehicles which could carry an average of 1.7 passengers, based on a 2022 Japan International Cooperation Agency report.
The CSOs observed the MMDA proposal also contradicted the stand of the DOTr that described the busway “as a crucial step toward a progressive public transportation system with 23 stations operating 24/7, affording commuters a safe and reliable option for transport.”
The groups also expressed serious misgivings about the Interior department’s announcement that plans to “modify” the bicycle lanes to become a shared space with motorcycles to reduce the risk of motorcycle riders being involved in road crashes.
“There is no road safety guidance that suggests that bicycles and motorcycles should mix in the same road space,” the CSOs said. Top of Form
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The Management Association of the Philippines has also strongly opposed the proposed closure of the EDSA busway, urging instead the enhancement and full utilization of the Mabuhay Lanes to help ease Metro Manila’s traffic congestion.
The group urged the MMDA to prioritize clearing the Mabuhay Lanes of traffic obstructions and illegal parking, rather than dismantling the EDSA busway.
Would all these proposals work? We really hope so.