MMDA shuts down Superlines bus terminal

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) ordered the closure of another bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday for causing traffic along EDSA.

The Superlines bus terminal was cited for violating the agency’s “nose-in, nose-out” policy, which is being implemented to ease traffic in the area.

MMDA director Roberto Esquivel, chief of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC), together with his men, blocked the terminal’s entrance and exit with barriers.

Superlines assistant general manager Emmanuel Pili tried to stop Esquivel’s team from enforcing the closure, saying their buses can move in and out of the terminal freely without causing unnecessary traffic build-up along EDSA.

Esquivel asked for an impromptu test, wherein a bus driver was allowed to demonstrate how he can maneuver the vehicle to leave and enter the station premises with its front end leading the way.

The driver failed the test because the terminal was too small to allow him to use the nose-in, nose-out maneuver. The 10-minute test also caused a short-lived traffic snarl in the area.

Esquivel advised Pili to consider transferring his terminal to a larger area, where they can have an access road at the back of the station to enable the buses to move in and out without any hassle.

Last Sunday, the Lucena Lines terminal was also shut down after MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando and other officials went on a routine inspection and discovered its buses violating the same traffic regulation.

The ES Transport terminal, also in Cubao, had resumed operations following an appeal from its owner to give them two weeks to rehabilitate their station so that their buses can adhere to the nose-in, nose-out policy. The terminal’s office is being demolished to give its buses more space.

The MMDA has constantly been telling owners of some 31 bus terminals on EDSA to abide by the law, renovate, or find another location for their operations.