Bus Rapid Transit
Some say the Covid Pandemic gave birth to the EDSA Busway or EDSA Carousel.
Or at least facilitated the establishment of a dedicated lane on Metro
Manila's main thoroughfare to buses.
The EDSA Carousel proved a godsend for commuters during the pandemic,
especially as part of the government's Libreng Sakay program when the metro
slowly returned to what people then called the new normalcy.
With restrictions still in place, many companies employing work from home
schemes, and school held online, Metro Manila traffic was, for those who
longer suffered hellish congestion pre-pandemic, heavenly.
But when health authorities deemed it safe enough for people to return to
normal life, the floodgates were opened for motorists and motoring,
traffic congestion returned with a vengeance.
EDSA is back to being a glorified parking lot at times. But this time,
buses were not suffering as much with much of the thoroughfare featuring a
clear lane for them to ferry passengers.
Commuters - more than 35 million just from January to June this year -
benefitted from a faster commute, the trip made more enjoyable while seeing
private cars stuck in traffic.
The EDSA Carousel experiment shows that a Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, system
could be what congested urban centers like Metro Manila need to provide a
reliable transport for the masses while easing traffic congestion.
Transport economist Robert Siy Jr., in an article on Rappler, indicated
that the EDSA Carousel could be made safer and more convenient to make
public transport an attractive alternative to using a private car.
The article also said turning the EDSA Carousel into a full-blown BRT would
mean faster, more frequent and more reliable buses.
The Department of Transportation has earlier aired plans to privatize the
EDSA Busway but was still undecided how to go about it.
Still this indicates that the EDSA Carousel or Busway can be turned into
full-blown BRT.
What are the features of a BRT? The Rappler article cited the criteria for
a BRT set by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
The criteria includes dedicated lanes for buses unimpeded by traffic, fares
collected before boarding, station platforms that are level with bus floors
or stepboard for quicker, safer and inclusive boarding, doors on either
side of buses.
Siy added that BRTs need to be run with strict schedules and intervals for
buses.
The Rappler article noted BRT projects in various stages of development in
the country.
One such project is being pushed by the Bases Conversion and Development
Authority targeting to establish a BRT system connecting Pampanga and
Tarlac by 2027.
Already underway is the project to set up a BRT system in Cebu.
Proponents of the BRT system argue that this should replace the so-called
boundary system for buses which encourage drivers and operator to compete
for passengers, racing toward stops, or dawdling at intersections waiting
for passengers.
This has proven to cause congestion as experienced on EDSA before the EDSA
Busway or Carousel was put into place.
The Rappler article noted that back in 2016, the National Economic and
Development Authority Board approved a P37.7-billion project to create a
Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit system with 63 stations from Monumento up to
the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
But the project was later scrapped to give way to light rail transit
projects.
Siy argues that rail transport and the BRT could complement each other and
form a backbone of an efficient and reliable mass transport network for the
metropolis.
There is yet hope that the EDSA Carousel can turn into an efficient BRT
system which could then spawn similar systems on other major radial and
circumferential roads of Metro Manila.