P2P bus ridership increasing – DOTR

With limited Metro Rail Transit (MRT) trains running nowadays, more commuters are taking Point-to-Point (P2P) buses.

As of 9 a.m. on Feb. 14, 2018, 32 buses were deployed to MRT-3 stations going southbound while 13 buses were dispatched to assist northbound commuters, Assistant Secretary for Road Transport Mark Richmund de Leon reported.

“The buses made a total of 59 trips, carrying an average of 56 persons each bus, during the morning rush hour, serving more almost 3,400 passengers,” he elaborated.

Since the start of the MRT-3 bus augmentation program last February 1 up to February 13, 2018, a total of 521 bus trips, which served 28,825 passengers, were made by the P2P buses.

“The bus augmentation program for MRT-3 is a fine example of multi-sector and multi-agency cooperation to realize our common goal of improving public service,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan maintained.

The deployment of the P2P buses to two MRT-3 North Avenue and Quezon Avenue stations during morning rush hour has provided an effective option for MRT-3 passengers while there are still limited train sets running on the train system, he reiterated.

“The best is yet to come for this bus for MRT-3 service,” according to the transportation official, pledging the number of running trains should increase after the general overhaul of train sets by the DOTr and MRT-3 management after the Holy Week break.