Express busses to ferry stranded MRT passengers

MANILA, Philippines – Stranded passengers of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT3) may soon be able to take an express bus to go to the Makati central business district during rush hour. 

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino asked bus operators on Thursday, April 30, to field at least 8 express busses to pick up passengers traveling from Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City to Makati between 7 and 9 am.

The express busses, which will be allowed to use special lanes along EDSA for faster travel, will help ferry stranded commuters whenever the MRT3 breaks down, Tolentino said.

The proposal came on the same day a glitch in the track brakes limited MRT operations to just the Shaw to Taft route for around two hours.

The overburdened mass transit line, which carries around 600,000 passengers daily, has been hit by frequent glitches in recent months.

Tolentino said that the 8 express busses could pick up passengers from Mother Ignacia Street to Makati during the early morning rush hour, and then resume the regular express bus route after 9 am.

He added that the new route may start next week, pending discussions with other transportation officials.

The Express Connect bus service – a joint project of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the MMDA – began its pilot run last March 23.

A total of 50 buses participated in the initial run of the project, which aimed to cut down travel time for commuters traveling from Fairview, Quezon City, to Makati City by making only one or two stops from the starting point to destination.

Its operations have been extended until May 23 to allow transportation officials to assess its impact on commuters and study the proposal to expand the project to cover more routes. 

But some bus companies have already pulled out of the service, citing the lack of profit in two of the bus service’s 3 routes. There are currently only 27 buses running out of the 50 deployed last March.

Tolentino said bus operators and transportation officials have agreed to get 23 more buses back on board, which will run on the E1 route traveling from Fairview to Ayala.

“Ang ibang ruta, E2 at E3, lumabas sa previous trial na hindi profitable. Kaya nag-withdraw ang ibang bus operators kasi walang sumasakay, pito lang, walo lang. Market forces na ang nag-decide na [E1] talaga ang pina-patronize ng pasahero,” Tolentino said.

(The E2 and E3 routes are not profitable based on the trial. That’s why some bus operators withdrew from the program because only 7 or 8 passengers would take the bus. Market forces have decided that the E1 route is patronized by passengers.)

The express busses operate daily from 5 am to 9 pm.

Transport agencies are hoping that the express bus service would encourage car users to shift to buses and free up congestion along EDSA. – Rappler.com