MAP nixes proposal to allow EV, hybrid vehicles on EDSA Busway

THE Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has expressed its opposition to the proposal to allow other vehicles on the EDSA Busway, noting that the new busway on EDSA has been designed for the exclusive use of public buses.

“It is now operating efficiently conveying commuters at a shorter time, and dramatically achieved higher passenger throughput rate utilizing fewer buses. This efficiency is vital for the densest traffic corridor in Metro Manila that is used daily by over 1 million commuters,” MAP said in a news statement issued on Friday.

The business organization stressed that policy-makers must realize the busway is still a “work-in-progress,” intended to be upgraded to full bus rapid transit (BRT) standards as announced by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista under a privatized concession being considered.

With this, MAP said implementing the proposal to allow hybrid and electric vehicles on the EDSA Busway amounts to “policy backsliding and will seriously set back the gains thus far achieved.”

MAP emphasized that “clogging” the busway with other vehicles will “severely degrade” the efficiency of the busway, which will affect the 400,000 bus passengers who use this “vital transport corridor.”

MAP divulged that the EDSA Busway conforms to globally accepted basic busway guidelines and BRT standards developed abroad over the past five decades and adopted in at least 188 corridors worldwide.

“The standards call for certain specifications, among which are a dedicated busway for the exclusive use of public buses, alignment away from traffic conflict lanes and control from inclusion and intrusion by other vehicles with its outer edges delineated with barriers,” MAP said.

The business group said the EDSA busway must conform to these standards, otherwise it will fail as a bus rapid transit system.

Further, it said the solution to traffic congestion on EDSA is to “fully develop” the busway into a full BRT to “conveniently and comfortably” transporting daily commuters more efficiently.

With this, MAP said the Department of Transportation (DOTR) must have “exclusive control” over the EDSA Busway, adding that other agencies must defer to the transportation department’s policy.

Last October, MAP, along with other private groups, urged the government to immediately implement the privatization of the EDSA Busway System to “finally” put an end to the daily struggle of thousands of commuters.

The private groups noted that the busway with rapid bus service has proven to be the “most cost-effective” urban mass transit system in the world.

Apart from being cost-effective, the groups earlier noted that it is easy to implement and requires “significantly” less capital expenditures, while it can provide high efficiency and ridership capacity similar to rail trams with the introduction of the latest technology in commuter transport: high capacity, articulated trackless long bus-trains running on rubber wheels.

The private groups emphasized that the country’s commuters deserve a Busway System that is “at par with comparable systems” in other countries.

The group cited the Jakarta Busway’s “longest system” in the world and the Guangzhou System, which they said are recognized as the “gold standard.”