J. Albert Gamboa l October 7, 2022 l The Manila Times
BUSINESS organizations led by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) are urging the national government to immediately implement the privatization of the EDSA busway system to help address the perennial traffic gridlock on Metro Manila’s main artery.
Also known as the EDSA Carousel, the busway system was introduced by the previous administration on June 1, 2020 in response to private sector advocacy. It is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line that has exclusive right-of-way on a dedicated lane along the center island of EDSA running from Monumento in Caloocan City to the PITX (Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange) public transport hub in Parañaque City.
MAP submitted a recommendation to the Department of Transportation (DoTr) last August to privatize the BRT under a concession agreement wherein the government would provide the infrastructure and improvements while a private concessionaire would operate and maintain the facilities.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista has met online with MAP President Rogelio Singson and Infrastructure Committee head Eduardo Yap to discuss the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) project, including the mode of investment by the corporate sector.
According to DoTr officials, the EDSA busway carried an average of 325,000 passengers daily in August 2022, even with only 550 buses committed to its operations compared to the pre-pandemic level of 3,300 units. It has reduced end-to-end travel time along the EDSA corridor by 50 percent to only one-and-a-half hours vis-a-vis three hours previously.
The BRT system has proven to be the most cost-effective mass transit system in the world. It can provide high efficiency and ridership capacity similar to rail trams following the introduction of the latest technology in commuter transport — the articulated trackless long bus-trains running on rubber wheels. More importantly, it is easy to implement and requires significantly less capital expenditures.
Millions of commuters in the National Capital Region and its adjacent provinces deserve to have a busway system that runs on rubber wheels. We need not look far for the proof of concept: the Jakarta BRT in Indonesia has the longest busway system in the world, while the Guangzhou system in China is widely recognized as the gold standard in BRT systems.
This busway advocacy of the private sector is in line with the Transportation department’s initiative to elevate the Philippine public transport system to global standards despite the challenges from severe fiscal constraints brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. It also jibes with the present administration’s policy that encourages business participation through PPP infrastructure projects.
Other recommendations by the business sector include the increase in capacity of station platforms to accommodate more commuters and enable the simultaneous docking of buses; the decongestion of Ayala Avenue stations, as well as McKinley Road in Makati City, through an alternate route from BGC (Bonifacio Global City) in Taguig City to Buendia Avenue stations; and the introduction of modern high-capacity electric commuter buses.
It is high time that the private sector and the national government join hands to provide the critical components that are needed to complete the EDSA busway system. Their partnership will finally put an end to the daily scenario in which thousands of commuters wait in long queues inside the overcrowded stations while enduring unnecessary pains and hardships.
*** The author is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and chairman of the Finex Media Affairs Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and The Manila Times. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph