New provincial bus stops set up along EDSA

The Metro Manila Development Authority has began putting up 13 new bus stops along EDSA for the exclusive use of some 2,500 provincial buses plying 24-kms. highway.

City buses that operate only within the National Capital Region will not be allowed to use them in a bid to further improve traffic and travel speed in major thoroughfares and also in preparation for heavier vehicular traffic during the Christmas season.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando conceived the idea of designating bus stops exclusively for provincial buses after observing that the sharing of bus stops among city and provincial buses has contributed to the traffic congestion along the main road. He said the establishment of more bus stops for provincial buses would run parallel with the improvement of bus stops for provincial buses to make it more convenient for commuters because most provincial buses have limitations with respect to loading and unloading their passengers.

“This project was envisioned to reduce conflicts over the shared use of limited road and bus stops space,” he said following an inspection yesterday. “Overall, this minor curtailment of commuter privileges such as boarding or alighting anywhere they please that has also contributed to traffic congestion at major stops for both city and provincial bus stops will be minimized,” he said.

The MMDA decided to put up more bus stops along EDSA also because of complaints from bus operators belonging to the Provincial Bus Association of the Philippines that they were having difficulties in so far as loading and unloading passengers are concerned.

The agency’s traffic engineering center subsequently conducted a joint site inspection tour of Edsa with the officers of PBAP yesterday to find out whether the number of existing bus stops for provincial buses were sufficient before designating new loading and unloading stations. Under the project, seven stations along the north-bound and six south-bound directions between the two major entry points of EDSA Balintawak and Magallanes, will be put up complete with traffic and directional signs.

The third lane of EDSA is currently devoted for provincial buses while the first and second lanes are dedicated for city buses to facilitate the transfer of passengers without hampering the flow of traffic.

Provincial buses, like city buses, are similarly given only 30 seconds to load and unload passengers and should leave the area as soon as another bus is fast approaching the bus stops.

The rules also provide that only provincial buses with a “P” mark painted below or above the windshield of their vehicles are allowed to use the new bus stops.

Waiting sheds with benches will also be constructed for commuters since the bus stops are located underneath flyovers to optimize the use of road space along EDSA.

Areas where provincial bus stops have already been set up include Taft Avenue, Magallanes, Ayala Avenue, Ortigas Avenue, Boni Serrano, Timog Avenue, East Avenue, Quezon Avenue, North Avenue, Trinoma Mall, West Avenue, Paramount and Balintawak.