Senators on Monday, April 22, urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to plan well its idea of adding another motorcycle lane in EDSA.

Senate Public Services Committee Chair Sen. Grace Poe said that while the intention to decongest EDSA is understandable, she's curious as to how the agency will carve out a dedicated lane considering the limited road space as it is.

"This experiment has been implemented in various forms by the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) in the past. They instituted a non-exclusive lane in EDSA and, more recently, an exclusive one in Commonwealth Avenue which is the largest highway in Metro Manila," she said.

She added that the findings from these experiments should be taken into account by DoTr.

"Are they intending to share it with bike lanes? Should it be standardized across all highways? The varying placements of motorcycle lanes can be confusing to motorists who traverse multiple highways daily," she said.

She mentioned that these are just some of the concerns that must be addressed with actual data and not just mere experiments that can cause further confusion in the already chaotic roads.

"It also highlights the need for an independent fact-based agency like the National Transportation Safety Board which should be able to cull data and institute standards for the designation of motorcycle lanes," she added.

Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero echoed Poe's statement that this was already done in the past.

"They already tried that remember the blue lane in the middle for motorcycles, did it work?" he said.

He also mentioned that while it's good that the agency is continually looking for solutions to the traffic problem, he asked DOTr to do simulations first.

"Through Artificial Intelligence (AI) simulators of whatever they are considering to do instead of implementing it and using us as guinea pigs?" he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Nancy Binay said that having dedicated lanes is only a temporary solution and does not fully address the worsening traffic in Metro Manila.

"The reason why such alternative rides exist is because our public infrastructures fail to address urban mobility challenges--puro palliative at short-term palagi. Kaya, huwag po sana tayong mag-dwell sa mga polisiya na maglilihis sa mass transit solutions," Binay said.

"DOTr should shift its focus towards efficient, safe and comfortable mass transportation experience, start building robust mass transportation networks, and prioritize investments in efficient public transit systems like buses, BRTs, and trains," she added.

She stressed how the full potential of the MRT and bus lanes has not been maximized yet a single-passenger alternative is going to be allocated.

"Di ba kulang pa rin ang mga tumatakbong bagon, siksikan pa rin sa bus at tren? Kawawa yung mga daily commuter na sumasakay papasok ng trabaho na preskong nakabihis at nakaporma, kasi nagiging mandirigma sila pagdating sa opisina (Aren't the trains in operation still lacking, and buses as well as trains are still congested? This is hard for our commuters who dress up and prepare for work everyday only to look like fighters when they get to their offices)," she added.

DOTr Secretary Jaime J. Bautista cited a recent that study highlighted the increasing volume of motorcycle riders that are around 170,000 which prompted the agency to consider adding another motorcycle lane on the country’s busiest road.

Bautista said the DOTr already has initial discussions with MMDA on having a dedicated lane for motorcycles along the major thoroughfare.

Currently, there is an existing EDSA Motorcycle Lane—the fourth lane from the right sidewalk and spans the entire length of EDSA, from Monumento, Caloocan City to SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and vice versa.