Sta Rosa eyes new bus transport hub

MANILA, Philippines - The city government of Sta. Rosa in Laguna is proposing another integrated transport system (ITS) in the south in an effort to help ease congestion. 

Sta. Rosa City Mayor Danilo Ramon Fernandez told reporters he submitted the local government’s unsolicited proposal to Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade yesterday.

“I respectfully submit that the alternate site of the SITS (South ITS) in Sta. Rosa is very feasible and can be operated in the shortest possible time within the term of President Duterte,” he said.

He said the proposal involves the construction of the ITS facility along the Biñan-Sta. Rosa Access Road, which is two kilometers away from the Mamplasan/Biñan Interchange of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), and 1.2 km away from the Philippine National Railways’ tracks. 

Covering nine hectares, the proposed facility would have passenger terminal buildings, arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, as well as park-and-ride facilities. 

It will have a direct connection to neighboring commercial centers such as SM Sta. Rosa and Robinsons Place Sta. Rosa, and be accessible via the Biñan-Sta. Rosa Access Road connected to the Greenfield Parkway Road, which in turn, is linked to the Mamplasan toll plaza, the endpoint of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax).

The identified site of the new ITS in the south is expected to provide passengers the flexibility in terms of having options on how to continue their journey to Metro Manila either through the SLEX or PNR or towards Cavite and Roxas Blvd. via the Calax and the Manila-Cavite Expressway. 

Fernandez said the project would be built at no cost to the government as the work would be undertaken by a group composed of various businesses, while the city government would provide assistance in processing of building and business permits. 

?He said the proposal is seen to help ease congestion as the facility would be located outside of the congested areas of Metro Manila and could be constructed and made operational within 12 months. 

While property giant Ayala Land Inc. bagged the ITS-South covering the 5.7-hectare lot within the Food Terminal Inc. compound along SLEX under the public-private partnership scheme, he said the city government’s proposal could still be undertaken to provide buses catering to the south options in choosing what terminal to use. 

There are 3,000 to 4,000 buses serving the southern routes of Metro Manila. 

Aside from provincial and metro buses, Fernandez said point-to-point buses could also be accommodated in the new ITS.