Edsa gridlock not caused by provincial buses

MANILA, Philippines — It’s not the provincial buses from Bicol region that are creating heavy traffic on Edsa, according to Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

He joined three other Bicol lawmakers on Monday in opposing the controversial plan of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to ban provincial buses on Edsa and relocate their terminals to Santa Rosa City in Laguna province by June.

Lagman said that buses ferrying passengers to and from Albay and the rest of the Bicol region, as well as those from Northern Luzon, were not the cause of traffic jams on Edsa because “the buses arrive early in the morning before the traffic gridlock starts and depart later in the day when the traffic has subsided.”

He recalled that he had opposed a similar proposal years ago for buses to drop off passengers from Albay at terminals in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. This would have forced them to take other rides to their destinations in Metro Manila.

Lagman said he brokered the current scheme among the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, MMDA and bus companies.

He called for the scheme to “be maintained, strengthened and observed pending the adoption of better policies and adequate transport infrastructure.”

Under the MMDA’s plan, bus operators will be relocated to terminals in the cities of Parañaque, Santa Rosa and Valenzuela where passengers may transfer to Metro-bound public utility vehicles.