MMDA asks DOTr: Change routes of provincial, city buses

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to cut the routes of provincial buses and to extend the routes of city buses as part of its plan to remove all provincial bus terminals on EDSA next month, an official said yesterday.

MMDA traffic czar Bong Nebrija said they met with DOTr officials in yesterday’s Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting and discussed if the agency could ask the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to help them with the plan.

“We have the support of the DOTr, reiterating the support of Secretary (Arthur) Tugade that we need to push through with this (provincial bus ban on EDSA),” Nebrija told reporters on the sidelines of the MMC meeting.

The LTFRB is an attached agency of the DOTr that regulates the country’s public transport system.

Under the MMDA’s plan, the franchise routes for all provincial buses with terminals on EDSA will be shortened, which means they will only be allowed from their point of origin to the interim bus terminals in Valenzuela City and Sta. Rosa, Laguna. 

The routes for city buses, on the other hand, will be extended, which means they will be allowed to traverse from their point of origin until Sta. Rosa, Laguna for southbound city buses and until Valenzuela City for northbound city buses.

Nebrija said the DOTr has also agreed to replace provincial buses with point-to-point buses with luggage compartments for luggage-laden commuters who will be affected by the removal of the provincial bus terminals on EDSA.

“There will be no revocation of the franchise. What will happen is franchise routes (will be cut). If they had a franchise route of province to Cubao and province to Pasay, now it will be just province to Sta. Rosa and province to Valenzuela,” he said.

Nebrija said while they still have to finalize everything in their next meeting with the LTFRB, they plan to close down all provincial bus terminals on EDSA, implement new routes for provincial and city buses and deploy P2P buses by next month.

Asked about the lawsuit against the provincial bus ban, Nebrija said the MMDA will exhaust all legal remedies to address the problem.