MANILA, Philippines – All buses plying Edsa will be equipped with microchips by the time the Organized Bus Route System begins on April 21.

“We expect that microchips will be installed on all the buses for the OBR to be fully operational on April 21,” said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority general manager Robert Nacianceno.

He said the last of the microchips, or radio frequency identification technology (RFID) tags, would be arriving in the next few days.

In a phone interview, Nacianceno said 3,000 of Edsa buses had so far been equipped with the RFID tags that would be used to track their location and to identify colorum buses, or those without a franchise.

The OBR is intended to relieve traffic on Edsa by systematizing the dispatch of buses using RFID tags and surveillance cameras.

Buses shall line up on a “first on, first off” basis at MMDA-established terminals.

Since last week, the MMDA has impounded close to 200 colorum buses in preparation for the scheme.

As a result, average travel speed along Edsa dramatically improved from 22-23 kilometers per hour to 45-65 kph, the MMDA said.

Nacianceno said the agency would continue the clearing operation, but he added most colorum buses stopped plying the Edsa route, particularly in the daytime, since the crackdown began.

He said they had people monitoring buses at nighttime as some colorum vehicles went out in the evening.