More car users shifting to P2P bus service on EDSA

MANILA, Philippines - More car users are shifting to public transportation following the pilot implementation of the premium point-to-point (P2P) bus service on EDSA, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez yesterday said around 20 percent of the riders of the P2P buses are motorists who used to bring their vehicles when traveling along the busiest thoroughfare in Metro Manila.

Ginez said the P2P service, with the pilot route from North EDSA in Quezon City to the Central Business District (CBD) in Makati City, has seen an influx of passengers in the past weeks.

He said the service was successful in providing a more convenient form of public transportation for residents in Metro Manila.

The LTFRB chief noted that the bus service had contributed to the easing of current load and congestion at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3).

The agency yesterday published an amendment to the implementing guidelines of the P2P service to ensure uninterrupted operations following the pilot implementation.

It moved the deadline for the submission of the qualification documents to Feb. 5 for the North EDSA-Makati CBD route.

Under the revised guidelines, the applicant selected to operate the said route should be able to deploy a minimum of 15 units within seven days from its selection.

Ginez said they will also announce soon those selected for other routes identified for the P2P bus service.

These routes include Fairview-Makati, Alabang-Makati and Katipunan-Makati.

Double-decker bus

The LTFRB is now requiring the selected operator of the North EDSA-Makati route to have at least 15 double-decker buses in the total fleet of 43 buses.

Ginez said the double-decker buses would address possible passenger congestion and ease the traffic along EDSA.

The current operator of the pilot P2P service recently introduced a double-decker bus, which the LTFRB said has attracted a lot of passengers.

LTFRB board member Ariel Inton said double-decker buses would “make traveling along EDSA a little more enjoyable.”