MMDA targets June opening for centralized bus terminal

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is eyeing the opening of a centralized bus terminal station at the Uniwide Coastal mall on Roxas Boulevard for southwest-bound provincial buses in June as part of the government’s plan to ease traffic on Edsa.

Emerson Carlos, MMDA assistant general manager, said the Metro Manila Council, the agency’s policy-making body composed of the local chief executives in Metro Manila, had approved the proposal to convert the 1.4-hectare lot on the mall’s lower ground and a nearby vacant property as an intermodal terminal station for buses bound for Cavite.

“It’s no longer a plan after the council approved it in principle in its meeting last Friday. Our target is to make it operational by June this year,” Carlos said during the agency’s weekly radio program.

The project is the first leg of the government’s plan to relocate provincial bus terminals in Metro Manila to its outskirts.

“Imagine the relief [from heavy traffic] once provincial buses are completely gone from Edsa,” Carlos said.

Once the centralized bus terminal stations are in place, provincial buses would no longer be allowed to have terminals at various points along Edsa and other major thoroughfares, which have been causing traffic bottlenecks.