https://www.cnnphilippines.com/transportation/2023/8/11/MMDA-opposes-calls-to-scrap-EDSA-busway.html
“Unless they have a definite proposal which will show that it will not affect the traffic, we will definitely oppose any such move to remove the bus carousel and go back to the previous system,” MMDA chief Romando Artes told CNN Philippines’ Traffic Center.
agree, especially your point about lack of planning. while i concur that the carousel should not be scrapped because it benefits many, sana naman magkalong-term plan na sila for more bus stops that are not associated/dependent on malls. not necessarily part of the carousel system pero dapat connected. pwede naman ipagsama yun, more bus stops and commuter safety, if the govt really wants it. but this is not a priority for our car-flaunting public officials because it does not benefit them much.
one of the things i hope i get to witness in my lifetime is a Taipei/Singapore-level public transpo here in the metro pero malabo na mangyari.
Sinabi mo pa!
The thing is, meron na tayong long term plans for mass transit in the metro, so we just need to look at those plans, look at the gaps, and use other modalities (i.e. buses, jeepneys (modern or otherwise), and others) to fill in those gaps and complement them!
For example, let’s consider the case of the Pasay Rotonda area (LRT EDSA station and MRT Taft Avenue station). There’s already the EDSA bus carousel station nearby too. It’s a huge mess, but a lot of this mess could have been prevented with proper planning. LRT EDSA station could have been built with MRT Taft Avenue station in mind—as it’s already in the master plan from even Marcos’ time! They could have bought the land MetroPoint mall currently sits in (or have made arrangements with the owners to build a commercial space while also serving as a transportation hub) and made it as a multi-modal terminal, where people can ride a jeepney (e.g. to MoA), a bus (e.g. to Cavite). Then, MRT Taft Avenue station could have bought the land where Giselle mall stands, and turn it to another part of the multi-modal terminal. Then the EDSA bus carousel can then be integrated in a better way, perhaps on the opposite side of Taft avenue, and closer to other modes of transport. All in all, there’d be a continuous space for commuters to flow in from LRT to MRT (or vice versa) and onwards to nearby areas (via walking or another mode of transport) without being funneled through long and tight walkways. This area already has very good connectivity so it’s just a matter of maximizing them and making it easier for commuters to transfer. The area has long been a transportation hub, which is why traffic in the area is terrible. All the government has to do is to provide better facilities and better connections.
Now, for a different case: MRT 3 Quezon Avenue station. This area had poor connectivity and facilities, which improved a bit with Centris Mall coming into play. However with new lines coming in contact with it (MRT line 8 and Metro Manila Subway–MMS), it should be developed further that by the time MRT 8 (and MMS) is operational, it’d not only be easier to transfer from the MRT 3 to the other lines, it’d also be easier to transfer to a jeepney or to a bus (either along EDSA or along Quezon Avenue). Right now, going from MRT 3 to a Fairview-bound bus is difficult, with transferring from MRT 3 to the jeepneys to Fairview being far easier. However, going from MRT 3 to Quiapo-bound jeepneys is pretty difficult: you’d have to go through Centris mall, then to street level, and again up the overpass to the other side of Quezon avenue, then to the jeepney stops. Getting a Quiapo/PGH-bound bus is just out of the question as you’d have to walk to the overpass, then cross both Quezon avenue and EDSA, and then all the way to near HiTop (opposite side). Just describing it is already tiring, lol! Plopping the MRT 8 and MMS stations in the right places such that better connectivity is achieved is a very good start here.
Anyways, yun. Sorry for this extended rant. I watch a bit of mass-transport YT (such as this one on the Seoul metro system) so pag nakikita ko kung ano yung ginagawa nila sa ibang bansa, I can’t help but wonder why can’t we do it here–especially with a masterplan already in place. And unlike in other places in the world, Metro Manila is in no danger of depopulating. While new places where people congregate might pop up, existing ones are not in much danger of being abandoned. Besides, we already have existing patterns to use: where people get on and off jeepneys (and buses)! So yeah, naiinis ako since there’s a lot of potential for our mass transport system, but… ugh.
EDIT: Tatlong lines pala ang mag-memeet sa area ng MRT 3 Quezon Avenue station: MRT 3, MRT 8 and Metro Manila Subway (MMS). Edited the fourth paragraph to account for it.
appreciate the fervor. but yeah, we have a long way to go. our mass transport system is something i did not really pay attention to, thinking that these problems always come with big cities. only after i have witnessed the commuter-friendliness of the mass transit in Taipei and Singapore did i appreciate how much different it could be.
also, government implementation should go hand in hand with change in commuter habits (ayaw talaga maglakad ng karamihan. magagalit pa sa driver kung hindi pababain sa alanganing lugar).
Just a bit of a comment about “ayaw maglakad ng karamihan.” I’m one of those people who don’t see that happening. Maybe it’s just my bubble, but people are actually willing to walk a reasonable amount of distance in order to take public transport. What they don’t appreciate is walking for kilometers just to be able to ride one short hop to a different stop just to be able to take a bus/train/whatever that’s vaugely in the direction they needed to go. (That last bit is me speaking from personal experience, lol! Muntik na akong ma-heatsroke at pulikatin, tapos parang ako pa ang may kasalanan na na-exhaust ako.)
I’ve grown up commuting to school, first via LRT(1) (wala pang MRT nor LRT2 nun, lol!) and then via MRT3. Ang di ko na lang na-sasakyan regularly ay LRT2, though I did use it as an alternate to MRT3 sometimes. I’ve had a lot of time to think during commute about the state of our mass transport system.
It’s a very different experience than I’ve had with the different limited-access highways out of the metro: usually NLEX, but also sometimes SLEX, STAR and TPLEX. It’s not as bad as people have said it was. While we’re not as car-centric as the US, their car-centric mentality have rubbed off us especially when it comes to putting commuters last.
I think our mass transport system comes hand-in-hand with urban planning. However, our urban planning being the way it is, our mass transport system has to pick up a lot of slack. It would be ideal if I don’t need to haul my ass to Pasay Rotonda to take the LRT to my school somewhere in Manila, but it’s already a thing and so LRT must be able to pick up the slack, and so on. What we don’t want is for people to think they need a car (especially dun sa mga mejo unfit, or yung may mga alagang bata or seniors) in order to function.
i get you. yung comment ko na yun, makikita mo lang kung palagi kang nagjijeep. hindi naman kasi ginagawa yun sa mga bus drivers. i have stopped counting the number of rude passengers that demanded to be dropped off in illegal/inconvenient spots because they cant be arsed to walk for 1 minute. i feel bad for the manong jeepney drivers sometimes kasi tatarayan o mumurahin pa sila.
agree: this is one of the worse cultural imports we got from the US.
Ahhh!! Yeah. I haven’t really ridden the jeepney a lot these days, but I’ve noticed that too back in the BC (before Covid) times. Usually, jeepney drivers know where people tend to drop on and off, and so pag sinabi mong “para lang po sa tabi” they’d not immediately stop, but stop where it’s more or less appropriate. Ang nakakairita pa nyan minsan, may bumaba na sa usual stop (usually nito sa area namin, kanto, gate ng subdivision etc.), pero may napapansin ako na iba, kaka-lagpas lang sa “stop”, pilit pang papara.
I’d usually ask kung saan pwedeng bumaba if I’m not a local or at the place often. I’d then just walk the remaining distance (or ride a trike kung may makita ako).
I just remembered my mom telling me she’d ask the jeepney driver to drop off right in front of where we live, and I was aghast since ako naman, I ask the jeepney driver to drop me off at the nearest 7/11 (where people usually get on and off anyways–bonus na rin yung being able to get some snacks before going back home). Dumadaan naman ang jeep sa tapat namin, pero kung magbababa sila sa tapat namin, they’d have to stay at the outermost lane, and then cross several lanes just to be able to make it to the nearby U-turn slot. Ako yung naawa sa jeepney driver pag ganun, di lang abala, takaw-disgrasya pa.