The EDSA Busway System started operations Tuesday with the view to reduce the end-to-end highway travel time from 2 to 3 hours to 45 minutes to an hour.
The interim operation of the bus stop system along the main highway of Metro Manila began July 1, 2020, to transport commuters from Monumento to PITX.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), announced the start of the EDSA Busway System to complement the operations of the MRT-3 line and its bus augmentation program.
The EDSA Busway aims to significantly cut travel time from Monumento to PITX from the usual 2 to 3 hours because of traffic, to just 45 minutes to 1 hour, the agencies said.
Following are the EDSA Busway guidelines provided by the agencies.
Buses from Monumento to Quezon Avenue will be using the following bus stops located on the curbside for the meantime to pick-up and/or unload passengers:
- Bagong Barrio
- LRT Balintawak
- Kaingin Road
- LRT Muñoz Station
- MRT North Avenue Station (Southbound-Loading only, Northbound-Unloading Only)
- MRT Quezon Avenue Station (Southbound-Loading only, Northbound-Unloading Only)
Meanwhile, retaining the existing setup, buses will shift using the median lanes with the partial operability of the busway section from Quezon Avenue all the way to Estrella.
Then, upon exiting Estrella, buses will be allowed to pick-up and/or unload passengers at the following curbside stops from Buendia to the PITX:
- Buendia
- Ayala (Southbound-Unloading Only, Northbound-Loading and Unloading)
- Magallanes
- Evangelista/Malibay
- Taft Avenue (Southbound-Unloading Only, Northbound-Loading Only)
- Roxas Boulevard
- Macapagal Avenue
- SM Mall of Asia
- PITX
The EDSA Busway will be served by 550 bus units, with 150 buses fielded starting Tuesday.
Buses will be using curbside stops until the needed bus stops (including lighting, fences and canopies) are completed, and when the concrete barriers are placed on EDSA’s median lanes.
The DOTr has procured 36,000 concrete barriers for use in the EDSA Busway. Partial delivery of the barriers will start from July 2 to 7, 2020, and are expected to be completed by August or September this year.
To better assist commuters, the LTFRB will also be implementing a mini loop from Timog Avenue to Santolan, starting Thursday, July 2.
The Timog to Santolan mini loop will be serviced by shuttles or mini-buses and shall be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers at designated curbside stops.
Public transportation resumed in Metro Manila as it shifted to GCQ after over 2 months of lockdown to stop the spread of COVID 19.
The iconic Philippine “King of the Road” jeepney is also managing to stay on the road as the reinvented LalaJeep delivery vehicles.
SEND WELL WISHES in the comments below to the commuting public as it experiences the EDSA Busway System starting today.
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