During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) led by then Secretary Arthur “Art” Tugade took the initiative of launching the EDSA Busway or EDSA Carousel project in June 2020 to ease the daily commute problems of tens of thousands of Filipinos. Within a month, a dedicated median us lane adjacent to the MRT-3 line had been installed.

Moreover, the DOTr rationalized the operations of public utility buses. Sixty-one fragmented feeder routes were replaced with a single, streamlined Carousel route running from Monumento in Caloocan down to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).

Concrete barriers were installed for physical segregation from general traffic and special buses with left-facing doors were introduced. A public-private partnership agreement was forged with the SM Group to build elevated median stations and pedestrian concourses. These structures directly link major commercial hubs to the inner-lane EDSA Carousel stations, namely: SM North EDSA in Quezon City; SM Megamall (Mandaluyong and Ortigas); and SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. The SM Group donated commercial spaces and assumed full funding for the construction of three major state-of-the-art concourses in the three mall sites.

Under the agreement, SM secured the rights to name the stations, administer, maintain, and manage the facilities based on DOTr guidelines. This arrangement ensured long-term, high-quality upkeep and security for the pedestrian hubs

The concourses were designed based on the conceptual framework of urban transport reform advocate Eduardo Yap.

Despite policy support, advocacy groups like the Move as One Coalition have flagged zero funding allocated specifically for the EDSA Busway under the DOTr's proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP). The DOTr defends this fiscal shift by leaning into the aforementioned public-private partnership (PPP) model to sustain future upgrades while keeping current systems rolling.

Recall that the EDSA Busway emerged as a model implementation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework established by the PPP Center under the stewardship of Cosette Canilao during the Aquino administration. Ms. Canilao has since joined Aboitiz InfraCapital, the infrastructure investment arm of the Aboitiz Group, as President and CEO.

For the sake of long-term infrastructure development, it is imperative to adopt a proactive and decisive stance in implementing the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) template.

The executive branch must demonstrate its political will in completing priority infrastructure projects like the EDSA Busway. Prolonged pauses will be detrimental rather than helpful, as time is ticking away. There are only less than two years before the expiry of the current administration’s watch and it stands to reason that it would like to be remembered as a regime that responded to urgent concerns of the citizenry just like the easing of mobility throughout the EDSA corridor.

High hopes were ignited when Vince Dizon was appointed as transportation secretary, but his stint was short-lived. Even before completing nine months at its helm, he was called to take over the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to stem the tide of the public outrage over ghost flood control projects.

The EDSA Busway has already demonstrated a simple but powerful truth. When government gives priority to public transportation, millions of commuters stand to benefit. What began as an emergency response to the pandemic has evolved into a vital component of Metro Manila’s mass transport system. The challenge now is to finish what has been started and to do it expeditiously.

SM Prime Holdings’ commitment to complete three major EDSA Busway stations should be welcomed as an example of the efficacy of the PPP approach. Properly designed and completed, they will make the Busway a showcase of safer, more accessible and more convenient commuting, particularly for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, women, children and daily commuters bearing the brunt of long journeys that take many hours to complete, thereby sapping huge stores of energy and reducing quality time for families.

Government must move with dispatch and determination, establishing clear timelines for completion and operationalization. When a public transport solution works, government should not allow it to languish. It should make it better, expand its reach and finish the job.

Once completed, the EDSA Busway will demonstrate with clarity that government is capable of bringing to full fruition effective solutions that give to the people what they have always longed to attain: safe and dignified travel and a better quality of daily life.