Busways for C5, Q Ave, Ortigas to undergo detailed study—DOTr
Commuters line up to take the EDSA Bus Carousel at the Main Avenue station Cubao, Quezon City on April 13, 2022. Bus stations were crowded with people after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced on Facebook that MRT-3 operations will be suspended from April 13 to 17 to give way to its yearly Holy Week maintenance shutdown. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News MANILA—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is moving to a more detailed study for three proposed busway corridors in the National Capital Region, an official said on Thursday.
The proposed corridors are C-5, Quezon Avenue and Ortigas-Aurora.
“The concern now is how to have the more detailed study kasi structural lang ‘yung unang study natin. It was financed by [the] World Bank,” Pastor said.
“So ngayon, we need a partner and we have already found one. We are just ironing out the terms of the foreign study and we will have it finalized and rollout eventually,” he said.
The proposed corridors are expected to have dedicated bus lanes similar to the EDSA Busway, but with new facilities.
“We hope that it’s more improved. Dedicated lane pa rin siya, but more catering now to kumbaga mas PWD-friendly na dapat siya as compared doon sa EDSA Busway because we had to work out on the existing configuration sa EDSA,” he said.
“At least dito sa corridors na nabanggit ko, may mga portions dito na may maluwag na bangketa na maaari nating lagyan ng lift or elevators and so on and so forth,” he added.
Whether the busways will be government-run or privately operated will be determined through the detailed feasibility study.
Pastor said the House of Representatives’ General Appropriations Bill (GAB) includes P75 million for the NCR Busway project.
“We cannot wait to improve the services with the private partner. So ngayon, araw-araw ginagamit ng ating mga kababayan ang EDSA Busway. In fact, more than 200,000 per day. Kailangan na nating ibigay sa kanila yung nararapat na infrastructure,” Pastor said.
Pastor also said four rehabilitated EDSA Busway stations—Monumento, Bagong Barrio, Guadalupe and North EDSA—are set for inauguration by the end of October this year, while new stations in PITX, Cubao and Magallanes are under construction and targeted for completion next year.