Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon expressed confidence in turning the EDSA Bus Carousel into a modern transportation route next year, as he vows to fast-track projects befitting the welfare of the commuting public.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 25, Dizon told reporters that he witnessed firsthand the challenges of the bus system during Monday’s rush hour.
The DOTr chief said the biggest issue he observed is that the queue of passengers tends to congest at the respective bus stops and the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) railway since both are usually connected.
The ultimate solution to this, he said, is to build a dedicated concourse separate from the MRT.
Dizon noted that the DOTr could follow the footsteps of bridleways being constructed by the SM Group as “model stations” in building dedicated concourses along the carousel’s 23 stations.
The agency is currently finalizing the engineering designs and specifications of these stations.
Upon completion, the bidding process shall commence, with the awarding of the said project as early as June.
The DOTr expects the construction of the dedicated concourses to start in the second half of the year.
“I’m going to push them to really push the timeline as fast we can hopefully by this time next year, around February or March next year, bago na ‘yung mga stations sa busway (there will be new stations in the busway),” said Dizon.
“I think we are confident that within the President’s term, we will have a proper, very modern busway carousel system,” he added.
The EDSA Carousel is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that connects Monumento in Caloocan City to Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), spanning 23 stations along the 23.8-kilometer-long highway.
Based on DOTr data, over 63 million passengers patronized the bus system in 2024. Just last month, it has already carried more than five million passengers.
Privatization
The Transportation Secretary said the long-term plan for the EDSA Bus Carousel is to offer up its operations and maintenance (O&M) for a public-private partnership (PPP).
On Monday, during the turnover ceremony of the DOTr’s leadership, Dizon stressed the need to expand the government’s partnership with the private sector to improve the country's transportation system.
It was during the time of his predecessor, former secretary Jaime Bautista, when the DOTr became vocal in pushing the government’s plan to privatize the EDSA Busway system.
True to his word of continuity in the DOTr’s priorities, Dizon said a PPP in the busway would ensure that it will be operated and maintained at a high standard.
“I think we have had enough experience with the government running infrastructure facilities to know that that is the right way to go,” the DOTr chief told reporters.
With several months to go before these plans kick into full gear, Dizon said there are short-term solutions that the DOTr can do right away to alleviate the commuter experience.
This includes updating the non-existent clearway finders at the busway and MRT-3 stations, repairing faulty timers at bus stops, and upgrading the inconvenient railing stops and broken elevators.
He also sees the need for a stricter dispatch system, with traffic enforcers in tow, to ensure buses leave on time and avoid clogging at bus stops.
Doing these fixes would guarantee an even more predictable travel time for commuters, he said.