By Alden Monzon, Inquirer Business
The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Monday called for the privatization of the EDSA busway and bus service, urging the government to also upgrade the public mass transport system.
The business group said they submitted a recommendation to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to consider privatizing the carousel network under an operate and maintenance concession wherein the government provides the infrastructure and its improvements, while a private concessionaire will operate and maintain the facilities
“MAP has offered to work with the DOTr and other private sector stakeholders in preparing the terms of reference (TOR) for the bidding and award of the concessions to ensure a level playing field for all,” the group said.
MAP said they are also pushing for a total upgrade of the bus service system which include, among others, increasing the capacity of the station platforms to accommodate more commuters and enable simultaneous docking of buses.
Other recommendations include constructing more stations, expediting the construction of busway station footbridges, resolving chokepoints, providing ease of bus-to-train connectivity, and providing bus exchange stations for trunk-to-feeder line transfer.
Decongestion of the Ayala stations and McKinley Road through an alternate route from Bonifacio Global City to Buendia stations, as well as the introduction of a modern, high-capacity, bi-articulated electric commuter buses were also recommended by the business group.
“The upgrade will complete the EDSA busway, a work-in-progress, scale up its capacity and raise it to the level of global standards to optimize the system to achieve its full potential as a cost-effective, efficient, high-capacity urban mass public transport system commensurate to the high-commuter density of EDSA,” MAP said in a statement, adding it will ensure sustainability as it serves as an alternative means of transport to the MRT3.
