THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said it is considering the construction of a busway along España Boulevard in Manila and Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.
“To me the most viable and most needed one would be España to Quezon Avenue. It’s feasible, we need more BRTs (bus rapid transit),” Transportation Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon said at an Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines forum on Monday.
The DoTr said the two roads are wide enough to accommodate a busway, adding that the feasibility study on the project is expected to be completed by next year.
That route “would be the logical and recommended next step. The Metro Manila BRT pre-feasibility study of USAID (US Agency for International Development) has already identified that particular alignment,” Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior advisor at technical advisory group Libra Konsult, Inc., said via Viber.
In 2022, the DoTr shelved its planned Metro Manila BRT project due to lack of progress during the pandemic, and after the loan for the project expired that year.
“My assessment then was it would have been the better alignment to build first if we are to use economic viability and service provision (criteria)… than the EDSA BRT,” Mr. Villarete said.
The government had planned to construct a 12.30-kilometer segregated bus lane from Manila City Hall to Philcoa in Quezon City, which can serve up to 290,000 commuters daily.
Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, cast doubt on the feasibility of the proposal, citing the government’s failure to properly administer the bus rationalization scheme as well as the implementation of other transportation projects.
“(Judging from) the way DoTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board have administered the bus rationalization scheme, as well as EDSA Carousel, the viability of busways — especially on exclusive lanes — is remote,” he said via Viber.
“Maybe DoTr is nostalgic. There was a World Bank-funded BRT on Quezon Avenue before. The DoTr scuttled the project, (incurring) loan penalties. There was a bus route on España decades ago,” Mr. Santiago added.
The DoTr is hoping to complete the rehabilitation of the EDSA Busway project by next year, Mr. Dizon said.
“The busway will be a continuous project. The IFC (International Finance Corp.) is helping us do the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) of the busway. I think that is the way forward and long-term solution for the EDSA busway,” Mr. Dizon said.
Earlier this month, the P252-million rehabilitation of EDSA Busway stations project phase 1 attracted a sole bidder — the joint venture between Premium Megastructures, Inc. and Dragonhart Construction Enterprise, Inc.
The DoTr is also committed to advance BRT projects in Cebu and Davao, which are currently experiencing delays.
These projects will be “a model for other areas like Iloilo, Bacolod, and Baguio,” Mr. Dizon said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose