Double-deck buses eyed for Edsa commuters

FROEHLICH Tours, the holiday express bus service operator, rolls out its newest baby—a double-decker equipped with reclining seats, a refrigerator, a toilet, a GPS and (bottom photo) a VIP lounge in the lower level complete with flat screen TV sets. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Barring any hitches, double-deck buses may soon be making a comeback on Edsa as part of the fleet of point-to-point (P2P) buses being introduced by the government to encourage private car owners to take public transportation and ease traffic congestion.

At a test-run of a double-decker on Thursday, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chair Winston Ginez referred to it as an alternative form of transport for commuters, comparing it to the Love Bus.

Double-deck air-conditioned Love Buses used to ply Edsa in the 1980s with the government-owned Metro Manila Transit Corp. as the operator.

The double-decker operated by Froehlich Tours Inc. has 53 reclining seats on the upper level and just 14 seats in the luxury lounge downstairs which is equipped with flat screen TV sets, a refrigerator and a toilet. It also comes with a closed circuit television camera, a GPS, automated electronic display and public announcement system and an automatic engine fire protection system.

Froehlich Tours is the operator of the holiday nonstop bus service that plies three routes—SM North in Quezon City to Glorietta 5 in Makati City; Trinoma in Quezon City to Glorietta 5; and SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City to Glorietta 5. Originally set to run from Dec. 5, 2015, to Jan. 6, the LTFRB extended the holiday bus service until Jan. 31.

More routes

The LTFRB, however, is adding more routes to its P2P bus service, bundling six routes into three packages: 1) Fairview to Makati and Ortigas to Makati; 2) Katipunan to Makati and Libis to Makati; and 3) Alabang to Makati and Alabang to Ortigas. The holiday routes, on the other hand, will be the fourth package.

In line with this, the LTFRB and Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) have asked bus operators, including Froehlich Tours, to submit their applications for the different packages.

Both agencies are looking at a maximum of 194 P2P buses to ply the different routes on Edsa: 52 buses for franchise package 1; 45 buses for package 2; 54 buses for package 3; and 43 buses for package 4.

A qualified applicant may be selected for more than one package, according to the DOTC’s Department Order 2015-018 and Memorandum Circular No. 2016-001.

The deadline for the submission of applications for packages 1 to 3 is on Jan. 15 and until Jan. 22 for package 4. Applicants should be Filipino citizens 18 years old and above.

In Thursday’s test-run which started at 7:30 a.m., Froelich’s double-deck bus plied the SM North Edsa-Glorietta 5 route, taking around 35 minutes.

At P55, the fare was about P20 to P30 higher than the ordinary bus rate and more than double that of air-conditioned buses.

However, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, or a group of more than five will be charged discounted rates. On the other hand, those who will buy advance weekend tickets which cost P125 each will be entitled to unlimited rides from Saturday to Sunday, said Christopher Bauer, Froehlich Tours chief executive officer.

During the dry run, Bauer said the 3.9 meter-high buses would be able to pass under any flyover which generally have an elevation of 4.42 meters.

“I believe that this is a project that would take time to be profitable, perhaps around 1 to 1.5 years,” he told reporters. He added, however, that he was driven not by profit, but a passion to show the government what was possible.

“We are not transporting goods; we are transporting people. Filipinos deserve a better transportation system, a nice bus where they can be comfortable. If it is possible in other countries, it’s also possible here,” Bauer said.

With the approval of the LTFRB, Bauer said he hoped to have 56 double-deck buses plying Edsa by March or April.

According to Ginez, the target market of the express buses were “professionals, students, even executives, who would pay for premium service for convenience.”

He added that in a survey of some 300 passengers in December, 20 percent were car owners who shifted to the holiday nonstop buses. Eighty percent said it was convenient and all of them said they would patronize it again.

The double-deck bus is an icon of London and is also common in some Asian cities such as Hong Kong and  Singapore.

In October last year, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it was mulling the deployment of double-deck buses on Edsa, a move aimed at addressing the worsening traffic congestion in the major thoroughfare.

Then MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said these vehicles would be “space savers” as they would be able to accommodate more passengers while using the same road space as noted in the proposal of Bataan Rep. Enrique “Tet” Garcia Jr.

Transport firm Matorco also used to operate open-top double-deck buses to carry tourists on Roxas Boulevard in Manila, MMDA said.

In 1932, Don Eugenio “Eñing” Lopez Sr. established the Iloilo Transportation Co. which introduced double-deckers in Iloilo province, long before they were used in Hong Kong.

Today, double-deck buses are used as shuttle service vehicles at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City and the Subic free port in Zambales province. With Inquirer Research