DOTr wants to increase EDSA Carousel capacity to 650 buses

MANILA: The Department of Transportation (DOTr) negotiated with the operators of EDSA Carousel buses to increase the route’s maximum capacity to 650 units in order to prevent long queues of passengers during peak hours.

In a briefing yesterday, DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said, “Iyon pong operator ay itataas iyong bilang ng mga bus mula po sa 550 paakyat sa 650 so nagdadagdag na po tayo ng bus units diyan (The operator will increase the number of buses from 550 to 650 buses, so we have increased the number of bus units there).”

According to Usec. Batan, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is also planning to launch two more EDSA Carousel stations along Tramo and Ayala Avenue.

Currently, there are 15 median bus stops for EDSA Carousel. There are also three other bus stops on the outer lanes.

These improvements aim to address the anticipated increase in passenger volume once the new school year begins on August 22 and face-to-face classes resume by November.

Usec. Batan also said that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has reopened over a hundred pre-pandemic city buses, public utility jeepneys, and UV Express routes.

“Para po masigurado natin na kapag nagbalik-eskuwela po tayo sa parating na linggo ay magkakaroon po tayo ng sapat na bilang ng mga public transport na masasakyan po ng ating mga estudyante (This is to ensure that once schools reopen next week, we’ll have enough public transport for our students),” he said.

DOTr also continues the Libreng Sakay (Free Ride) program at the EDSA Bus Carousel and LRT-2.

Last month, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista and LTFRB Chairperson Cheloy Garafil met with representatives from the two EDSA Carousel bus consortia and agreed to accelerate the payout for the Libreng Sakay program in exchange for the deployment of 440 buses during peak hours as compared to the usual 200 buses in the past.

Photo from Kap Aguila and Department of Transportation

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