The Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) praised the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s ongoing initiative of reforming the traffic system and public bus transportation along the stretch of EDSA.
In a statement, the group of finance leaders said that the reforms being conducted by the DOTr will greatly improve millions of commuters’ travel time on EDSA and other major traffic corridors in Metro Manila.
The reforms include the replacement of existing yellow bus lanes with a new busways in the innermost lanes of EDSA as well as the bus franchise rationalization and route restructuring.
Eduardo H. Yap, chairman of the national affairs committee of FINEX, described DOTr’s plans as “bold, historic and game changing reforms.”
Since the infamous eight-hour ‘carmageddon’ in 2015, Yap has been consistently and publicly advocating traffic reforms on EDSA.
FINEX said that residents of Metro Manila have suffered badly from severe traffic congestion and poor public bus transportation service for decades. The group said that the economic opportunity losses previously estimated at P2.4 billion per day have risen to approximately P3.5 billion before the enhanced community quarantine was imposed over Luzon.
The group, however, admitted that there are structural and behavioral challenges to surmount, saying that service integration and rationalization will require a paradigm shift on the part of the bus operators as well as space allocation.
It said that the the physical obstacles along EDSA’s inner lanes pose difficulty to the new busways. However, the group is optimistic that the DOTr will develop “practical and inclusive” solutions to resolve these challenges.
Meanwhile, the group said that car lanes should be removed and shifted to the center island as soon as buses are retrofitted with left-side doors. Additionally, it said that sharing the use of existing bridges and stairs of the MRT-3 system will save much implementation time.
“If properly implemented, they will be far more efficient than the defunct yellow bus lanes. As a result, it is expected that higher productivity will be achieved with more commuters accommodated and allowing them to reach their destination faster,” FINEX said.
