Commuter Woes: The Government’s Plans for Public Transportation
Feb 4, 2016 • Abu Poblete
Commuter Woes:
The Government’s Plans for
Public Transportation
The government is trying to avoid another instance of the infamous 2015 Carmageddon that had thousands of Filipinos stuck on major roads. This desire is pushing the administration to overhaul public transport in 2016 with new plans of a new terminal system for southerners, speeders for buses, new MRT trains and other road rehabilitation projects. The DOTC says that it will focus on controlling the volume of commuters this year.
Here are some of the major plans the government has to ease our public transport.
8. The new South Integrated Terminal System for the south’s provincial buses
Via ayalaland.com.ph
The lives of southerners working in the north will be saved from the woes of commuting as the South Integrated Terminal System (South ITS) has finally been given a thumbs up by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). The South ITS will connect different modes of transportation, like the 2,000 provincial buses entering from the south, will improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in the Metro, according to DOTC secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.
“The South Terminal will cater to provincial buses serving routes to various destinations within Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It is estimated that up to 4,000 buses and 160,000 passengers will pass through the ITS South Terminal from SLEX every day,” said ALI Senior Vice President Junie Jalandoni.
Construction is said to start in September 2016 and end 18 months after or by February 2018.
7. The P29.9 billion infrastructure budget
A makeover worth 29.9 billion-peso will be spread across railways, airports and seaports to modernize and rehabilitate them. The budget will be distributed to aviation (P9.041 billion), railways (P7.96 billion), seaports (P12 billion), roads and bridges (P1.79 billion), and other governance projects (P1.79 billion).
The P9.041 billion budget for the airports will be given to 31 domestic and international airports. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport will be receiving P25 million and the Clark International Airport New Terminal Building P2 billion, among other airports.
37 seaports will also be rehabilitated this year.
6. Bus rapid systems
Via wikimedia.org
A new Bus Rapid Systems (BRT) has been given the green light by the government to ease the congestion in the Metro.
The BRT will begin in Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City to the Manila City Hall. With a budget of P4.78 billion loaned from the World Bank and Agence Francoise de Développement (AFD), “the concept is they are dedicated lanes for public buses in the middle section of the main road, in this case Quezon Avenue all the way up to Manila City Hall,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.
Last year’s Christmas season saw the inception of the Point-to-Point buses or the P2P bus service and so far, the system has been embraced positively by its passengers. Although it was scheduled to stop on January 31, the bus service is still ongoing as of writing.
5. DPWH road works
ADVISORY: Scheduled DPWH Road Repairs (January – July 17 2016). #mmda pic.twitter.com/UIsFdFzVJv
— Official MMDA (@MMDA) February 3, 2016
The DPWH has announced the scheduled road works in public roads and highways.
1 comment
This article does a great job of shedding light on the DOTC’s plans to tackle Metro Manila’s traffic issues. It’s refreshing to see such a detailed breakdown of the strategies being considered to alleviate congestion in one of the busiest cities. The insights provided are both informative and thought-provoking, offering hope that these initiatives could bring much-needed relief to commuters. Thanks for keeping us informed on these important developments—it’s encouraging to know that efforts are being made to address such a critical issue!