IN the ongoing 2027 budget hearings, one of the major concerns was the zero budget for the EDSA busway in the National Expenditure Program (NEP). In previous columns, I mentioned that investing in the EDSA busway is arguably the highest-yielding investment that can be made today in the transportation sector. The EDSA busway is already a popular mass transit service. But it can be much bigger and much better at relatively little cost (compared with investment in the rail sector). With the right buses and infrastructure improvements, the busway can serve over two million passengers daily with high efficiency. Moreover, these results can be delivered early—within the remaining period of the Marcos Jr. administration. It should be at the core of our public investment pipeline.
The EDSA busway was established over six years ago, during the initial months of the pandemic. In July 2021, a decision was taken to shift EDSA buses to the median lane and to make this an exclusive lane for buses. With capacity restrictions on the MRT-3 trains due to social distancing, fast-moving buses on an exclusive lane were expected to compensate for the reduced capacity of the MRT-3 trains. The bus service ran from Monumento to PITX with 12 stops along the way, including at Mall of Asia. It was a success.
Before then, buses were confined to the two curbside lanes of EDSA and moved very slowly. A journey from Fairview to Makati could take as long as three hours. Private cars turning right or accessing curbside establishments would constantly block the flow of buses. Competition for passengers also resulted in buses lingering at stops and stations.
There were concrete plans 10 years ago for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system on EDSA using a dedicated median bus lane. The Asian Development Bank spent over $1 million for the project design by one of the leading BRT experts in the world—the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). It envisioned a high-quality, reliable mass transit service. In 2016, the Board of the then National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved a P38-billion investment for the EDSA BRT project.
Buses would have doors on both sides, able to operate both at the median and at the curbside. Buses could travel inside and outside the EDSA dedicated lanes and bring passengers directly to popular destinations (for example, to Malolos, Binan, Alabang or Dasmarinas, Cavite) without transfers. With passing lanes at stations, buses could also operate on an express basis, taking passengers directly, for example, from North EDSA to Ayala Avenue without stopping. Using a combination of 12-meter and 18-meter buses, EDSA BRT would be able to move more than 2.5 million passengers daily with relative comfort and efficiency (more passengers than all the rail lines combined).
But EDSA BRT did not materialize. Officials were told incorrectly that it was too difficult to move buses from the curbside to the median, that bus operators would never agree to the change, and that the project was not technically feasible. The EDSA BRT project was scrapped in 2018 by the Department of Transportation. They were wrong. The EDSA BRT was not only feasible; it could be launched in a very short period of time.
In mid-2021, simply placing buses on a dedicated lane on EDSA, even without much supporting infrastructure, resulted in a fast, predictable, traffic-free, no-frills bus service on EDSA. This was achieved despite using buses with doors on the wrong side, despite the absence of weather protection at stations, and despite passengers having to walk long distances and several flights of stairs in order to access the bus platform at the median.
Moreover, the EDSA busway did one better than MRT-3—it carried passengers further. One could get to Mall of Asia (and even onward to the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange) without having to transfer. With a relatively small budget, the EDSA busway today carries from 300,000 to 400,000 passengers daily—not bad for a low-investment, “make-shift” service.
But the EDSA busway should not remain in its current state. It should be upgraded and expanded so that the potential identified in the ADB 2015 BRT study can be realized. The EDSA busway should be made fully accessible for persons with disability. All stations should have sufficient restrooms and adequate weather protection. Imagine the morale boost of having over a thousand brand new buses with doors on both sides, operating with efficiency, convenience and high reliability—serving stops both within and outside the EDSA busway. It would change the character of Metro Manila. [This is what the Transjakarta BRT achieved for Jakarta, and Metro Manila can do the same.]
The upgrade should not only be about infrastructure and new vehicles. It would also be about the business model. All buses using the EDSA busway should be on performance-based service contracts; bus operators would be paid the full cost of running the buses plus a reasonable profit. There would be incentives and penalties to ensure that services are according to agreed standards and schedules. At the same time, a cashless fare collection system should be introduced with all revenues going into a fund that would be used to pay for the service contracts. This is how high-quality bus services are organized in all the best cities. There is no reason why this approach should not be adopted for the EDSA busway.
At a time when our metropolis is increasingly choked by traffic, at a time when commutes are becoming unbearably arduous and stressful, the EDSA busway offers a practical and attainable solution. If assured of priority use of road space and financial support for its upgrade and expansion, the EDSA busway can deliver additional mass transit capacity in Greater Manila of well over two million daily passengers within two to three years’ time, ahead of the longer-gestation period rail projects. Instead of waiting in long queues or sitting for hours in traffic, millions would be able to leave their cars or motorcycles at home and be at their respective destination hours earlier. Filipinos deserve better, sooner.
Robert Y. Siy is a development economist, city and regional planner, and public transport advocate. He is Co-Convenor of the Move As One Coalition. He can be reached at mobilitymatters.ph@yahoo.com or followed on X @RobertRsiy
