NO EXPLANATION The Ferrari driver, a 26-year-old man from Bataan province, did not explain why he was on the bus lane. —PHOTO FROM InterAgency Council for Traffic
MANILA, Philippines — The driver of a luxury sports car got off easy after he was apprehended by the superbody InterAgency Council for Traffic (IACT) for encroaching on the Edsa busway, which is exclusively for city buses.
The silver Ferrari 488 GTB was flagged down on the innermost lane of Edsa southbound near the Guadalupe Bridge in Makati City around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the driver who was a 26-year-old man from Bataan province based on his license, did not explain why he was on the dedicated bus lane.
He was issued a ticket and slapped a fine of P150 for disregarding traffic signs—loose change considering that a Ferrari 488 GTB, depending on the model and variant, costs between P20-P30 million.
Violators of the Edsa bus lane should be fined P1,000 but the MMDA said it would penalize them only for the less serious infraction “out of consideration” for people struggling to get by due to the pandemic. MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago earlier said that around a thousand vehicles had been flagged down by the MMDA, the IACT and the Highway Patrol Group for encroaching on the Edsa busway since it opened on June 1.
50% government personnel
Half of the apprehended drivers turned out to be government personnel driving motorcycles and private or government vehicles.
Under the new and improved Edsa according to the plans of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the dedicated bus lane would be moved from the outermost to the innermost lane, parallel to the Metro Rail Transit 3.
The “yellow lanes,” or former bus lane, would become the new cycling lane, leaving the center of the busy thoroughfare for private cars and other vehicles.
The DOTr claimed the reconfigured lanes would ensure faster travel time for commuters.