Department of Transportation (DOTr) operatives apprehend two bus shuttles bearing the markings of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for violating rules on the use of the Edsa busway on Thursday, April 4, 2024. | PHOTO: DOTr’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation
MANILA, Philippines — Two Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)-marked buses were caught illegally using the Edsa Bus Carousel Lane on Thursday.
During an operation of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT), operatives flagged the two shuttles on Edsa Main Avenue.
In a text interview with INQUIRER.net, a SAICT official who requested anonymity said the bus drivers showed a February 20 MMDA memo to DOTr enforcers indicating that “MMDA shuttle buses designated for employee transportation are allowed to access the Edsa Bus Carousel Lane.”
However, the SAICT exec stressed that the “in-house memo” is not being honored in the use of the Edsa busway.
According to the DOTr operatives, employees aboard the MMDA buses were “on their way to their office.” The MMDA’s head office is in Pasig City.
The MMDA has yet to comment on the matter as of writing.
READ: More erring ambulance drivers apprehended on Edsa busway
Aside from the two MMDA shuttles, DOTr-SAICT operatives also apprehended several marked emergency vehicles, including those from the Bureau of Fire Protection and Philippine National Police, improperly using the Edsa busway.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) operatives apprehend two bus shuttles bearing the markings of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for violating rules on the use of the Edsa busway on Thursday, April 4, 2024. | PHOTO: DOTr’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation
SAICT said that such vehicles can only use the Edsa busway when responding to emergencies.
The DOTr stressed that the Edsa busway is a “dedicated lane [for] public utility buses to move as many commuters as possible while keeping the lane free from private vehicles.”
READ: DOTr stops 3 ambulances without patients on Edsa bus lane
Previously, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista enumerated the types of vehicles that can pass the Edsa Bus Carousel Lane:
- Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-authorized Buses for the Edsa Busway Route, including bases with Special Permits and/or franchises to operate on the Edsa Busway Route;
- On-duty Ambulances, Fire Trucks, and Philippine National Police vehicles; and
- Service vehicles performing their duties for the Edsa Busway Project, including but not limited to construction, security, janitorial, and maintenance services within the Edsa Busway.
The Edsa busway rules, however, exempts government officials like the President of the Philippines, Vice President of the Philippines, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court Chief Justice..