All EDSA Provincial Bus Terminals To Be Relocated to Marikina City
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced yesterday, August 14, that it will transfer all provincial bus terminals on EDSA and focalize them in one location. The transfer is expected to start next month, after which the provincial buses will start operating out of the integrated transport terminal in Marikina City, called the Metro Manila Eastern Multi-Modal Transport Terminal (MMEMMTT).
Officials expect the move to improve traffic flow on EDSA, manila’s busiest thoroughfare.
©mmda.gov.ph
At least 1,000 provincial buses will be affected by the move once the transfer is completed. Currently, four bus companies have already relocated some of their buses to the new terminal, although they are using it solely as a parking area as of the moment. They cannot operate out of the location yet because its accreditation with the DOTr is still pending.
Additionally, the DOTr has not yet set a timetable for the completion of the transfer, or when the terminal will commence its operations. However, DOTr secretary Arthur Tugade said that they are working on speeding up the terminal’s accreditation. He added that his department is always ready to support plans that can potentially improve the country’s public transport conditions.
Part of the DOTr’s plan for the new terminal is to create a point-to-point bus service at the transport hub to service more commuters.
©wikipedia.org
From MMEMMTT, the provincial buses will traverse C5 Road and Katipunan Avenue, then pass through either Mindanao Avenue or Marcos Highway to get to their provincial destinations.
Complementing MMDA’s move
DOTr’s plans for the new terminal follows a similar move by the MMDA, wherein the government agency began transferring the provincial bus terminals on Baclaran to the new Southwest Interim Provincial Terminal (SWIPT) at the HK Sun Plaza in Pasay City. DOTr undersecretary and MMDA general manager Tim Orbos hopes that the opening of MMEMMTT will not only ease traffic flow on EDSA, but also make commuting more efficient for people residing at the Metro’s eastern end. “We expect the buses that are not compliant with the nose in, nose out policy and those at the Araneta bus terminals that ply EDSA to be transferred here,” Orbos told reporters during a visit to the new transport hub. “This means there would be no more provincial buses along EDSA.”New bus routes
A ‘back to basics’ approach
Asked about the new terminal hub’s potential to worsen the traffic situation at these already busy raods, MMDA chair Danilo Lim said that their enforcers will take a ‘back to basics’ approach and impose strict implementation of existing traffic rules and regulations. Meanwhile, Marikina 1st District Congressman Bayani Fernando said that MMEMMTT offers the potential to make commuting more convenient for those who frequently travel to and from the provinces, as it is located on Marcos Highway and close to the Santolan station of the Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 2 (LRT-2) on Marikina-Infanta Highway.Featured Articles
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